After Rovers notched their first triumph of the month to edge closer to the playoff places, Head Coach, Jon Dahl Tomasson was full of praise for his side and the Rovers supporters, as the two elements combined to drag Rovers over the line towards three points, in the Blues’ 2-1 home victory over Bristol City. The boss also discussed 15-year-old, Rory Finneran, who became the youngest ever player to earn a place in a Rovers matchday squad after being named on the bench.
“We found a way to win tonight. We’re delighted with the win, even though it probably wasn’t the best performance we’ve shown. We were not brave enough in the first-half, we didn’t play forward enough and were probably afraid of losing the ball in some moments. Bristol City were well-organised tonight and stood well to disrupt us. We had one good moment in the first-half with the goal where we did all the right things and played forwards for Arnór Sigurðsson’s clinical finish. That clinical nature in-front of goal is something we’ve missed this season, so it was great to see him put us 1-0 up. At half-time, we talked about growing our domination, but with a purpose to play forwards more. I think we came out in the second-half and continued our dominance and scored a well-worked corner to extend our advantage.
“I think the whole Wharton family will be proud of that goal. They understand what it means to the club and they will all be happy for that moment. I believe the last time that happened was in the Carabao Cup last season, in the game against Nottingham Forest where Adam assisted Scott! Although that was last season, it’s a great moment to reflect on and replicate tonight. After taking a 2-0 lead, the team were fighting, the fans remained behind the team in great voice and we dug in. Although we gave a sloppy, unnecessary goal away, we suddenly had Bristol City come back into the game and we had to fight hard and work hard, but we saw the result and the points out!
“It was great to have 15-year-old, Rory Finneran on the bench, as well! I don’t know if he will be able to handle school, tomorrow! Normally, you have to be in bed early on a school night! It’s great for him to get a win under his belt as he’s a big talent for the club that the academy have done really well in handling and nurturing. Tonight was a great win, and we’re delighted with the three points!
“It’s a great feeling to win a game when we’ve perhaps not played at our best. We know that the squad is stretched, and they have played a lot of games, but the boys have been fighting for Rovers in every game. They have been playing excellent football throughout the season and have continued their fighting spirit tonight and were rewarded. Some of the players are half-dead now(!) But we’re doing it for Rovers. When you’re that fatigued, the legs want to do one thing and the head wants to get home(!)
“We had control of the game and dominated the whole second-half, whilst doing the right things really well, so it was frustrating to concede such a cheap goal. We know that goals change games, of course, and we saw that immediately. Bristol City made some substitutions to bring some new energy onto the pitch, but we dug in and earned a well-deserved three points. Leopold Wahlstedt made some great saves, but we have to remember he’s still a young boy who’s getting used to the league and to England in general. Every game is a big challenge for him, but one that I think he’s coping with quite well, so it’s great to see him making such important saves. He will earn great confidence from these performances, but also from getting the three points. When you’re playing against such good opponents and you’re performing at the same level as we did against Leeds United, then they should be proud and confident. It should also help you regain energy for the next game, which we need!
“We need to wait on a diagnosis on Scott. We all know we’re stretched, but we knew he was struggling at half-time, but he dug in, scored a goal and helped us win the game, so hopefully he will manage to be involved at the weekend against Southampton, so we’ll have to wait and see how he is. Niall (Ennis) hasn’t been back for long, but we need to try and get different players going and up to speed, because our squad isn’t the biggest and not the most experienced. I gave him 45 minutes today, told him to ‘work hard’ and we could bring him off when he was tired, but it’s about rebuilding his fitness. It was great to see him get his first start at Championship level. He got a couple of shots away, which was great even though one was offside, but we needed to run in-behind them. In the first-half, we were not brave enough or playing forward enough as we should have done and as we did in the second-half.
“Rory is a big talent and we have a couple of them within the club at youth level and in the under-16s. I know the academy is working hard on a daily basis to improve them all, including Rory. I have also seen him, first-hand, training with myself and the first-team. He’s a midfielder who can use both feet and has great vision, but he still has a lot to learn. Just being around a game, on a matchday is a great learning curve, which you need to experience. Yet, because we’re stretched, it was a good opportunity to give such a big talent some valuable experience in order to help his development.
“He and his family should be proud of tonight, even if he didn’t play. He can learn a lot from this experience, like the way the first-team play in the Championship. This is not a youth competition, this is the real deal. Just being on the bench and participating in the warm-up will be valuable for him. He has a lot of potential, but there’s still a long way to go. There’s a reason I put the boy on the bench, because I don’t put players on the bench who can’t play football. My priority was always, to win the game. We cannot give everything (chances to play) for free, here.
“It’s up to Rory to keep developing and impressing. We shouldn’t also forget, that outside of football, school is also important. Doing the right things at school, studying, getting good grades is just as important as being able to play, because, you never know in football. All the young boys need to show discipline, because you need discipline to be a footballer and you need to show that at school, firstly, as well.”
