After Blackburn Rovers made it eight unbeaten in all competitions, following a 1-0 home triumph over relegation-threatened Blackpool, Jon Dahl Tomasson beamed with delight as he waxed lyrical about his team to RoversTV.
“We were in control tonight. This was another brilliant home victory, in-front of our fans. If you look at the performance and result, three points are well-deserved. The only thing we can probably be frustrated about is the fact we only scored one. We played some great football; the fans enjoyed it, and we can now send them home happy after achieving a double in a derby against Blackpool. We saw players who haven’t played as much, playing good football and performing well for the team, which they deserve compliments for, as do the whole squad. Another clean-sheet is always great. Aynsley (Pears) has played seven games in 2023 and achieved five clean-sheets which shows how solid our defence has been.
“I think we played some really good football tonight. We played one-touch football with a high tempo, and we were intense without the ball, winning it back very quickly after losing it which, alongside the great atmosphere inside Ewood, made it an enjoyable night for everyone connected with Rovers. A second goal would have killed the game and I would have been enjoying life more on the bench! Of course, if you’re only leading 1-0, you can always somehow concede a goal, which we’ve seen a lot of time.
“The boys, however, were excellent in the way they defended despite playing in such a tough schedule against difficult opposition with Premier League experience. The two draws (versus Watford and West Bromwich Albion) were very good results, but to play such a physical game today was great. The physical load was probably the highest the team have produced all season. We can only praise how the players dealt with all the questions Blackpool had, who are fighting for their lives and came into this game in good spirits after beating Stoke City, at the weekend.
“The players who haven’t played in a while came in and did an excellent job. Callum (Brittain) and Sammie (Szmodics) came back after long injuries and showed the togetherness and the spirit in the squad to produce special performances tonight. This performance also showed how we want to work in training. We want to achieve something in training and perform, but we also need to work hard and you need to be fit and ready to take the opportunities when they come, which they were tonight.
“The goal was great. We worked on the idea of quick football, a switch of play followed by runs into the box, in training. It was a brilliant goal to watch. Teams always need goals and it’s great to see Tyrhys (Dolan) scoring tonight and filling in the space left by (Bradley) Dack and Ben (Brereton Díaz). It’s great to see the forward players getting a goal, rather than Dom (Hyam) assisting Daniel (Ayala), like on Saturday! I think Dolan is playing some good football at the moment. He’s extremely intense without the ball, with his pressing and with the ball he’s playing good football with quick one-twos and he’s making the right runs, which is good to see.
“The togetherness and the spirit of the team is very important. Rovers is the priority, not one individual. I’ve said that from day one. We need to continue keeping Ewood Park as a fortress, because we’ve been strong here. The fans are enjoying seeing the team play and they got behind the lads brilliantly, today, which was enjoyable to see. We need team spirit, too. You can see our spirit and togetherness in how we defend together, because it shows that they want to be solid defensively, the target now is to score more goals.
“It’s important to talk about the togetherness with the fans, not just in the group. We’ve played back-to-back home games and they helped us towards the end in both games, but I think they can help us even more. Today, they did an excellent job and were very loud, but I know at times, players can have a tough day when things aren’t going their way, but that’s where the fans can help us even more.
“I don’t think Daniel (Ayala) will be available for Saturday against Queens Park Rangers, but I’ll need his medical report. My gut feeling suggests he’ll be out, but we’ll wait and see. The physical load and the high number of injuries is normal during such a busy period. That’s why having a big squad is important. It’s normal when you’re playing such intense games against good opposition, but it’s also edging closer towards the end of the year, which makes you feel the load more. We have already had the tough games on the road against Watford and West Bromwich Albion who have Premier League players. When you play against that quality, you know it’ll be a tough game, both physically and mentally, but we’ll keep going. Harry (Pickering) wasn’t involved tonight, but we’ll also have to wait and see whether he’ll be ready for the weekend, or not.”
