Blackburn Rovers returned to winning ways as they began life under a new regime, following John Eustace’s appointment on Friday evening. Despite the new boss being at Ewood Park, it was Damien Johnson and David Lowe who took charge of Rovers’ 3-1 home victory over Stoke City, as the former Rover and Northern Irish international stood up to the plate to speak to RoversTV, to reflect on a wonderful afternoon for his former side.
“I’m delighted for the players and the supporters. It’s not been an easy couple of days for the players and for them to put in a performance like that, they really needed the fans with them to show the togetherness between the players and supporters. That togetherness undoubtedly contributed to us getting the win.
“Goals change games and they impact games, especially when the run of results you’ve been on haven’t been particularly positive, so to get off to a good start was vital and thankfully we did that. I thought, overall, the performance in the first-half was fantastic and we looked a threat on transition and played some really good football.
“In the second-half, we probably weren’t as good on the ball, but we showed another side to our game and we were able to see our resolve. We defended the box in the right moments, and we have to give a lot of credit to Aynsley (Pears) for a big penalty save at a critical point in the game. Everyone played their part and we’re really pleased with the performance and result.
“It’s obviously important to take our chances. When you’re having good moments in the game, it’s important to capitalise on them. They were three great finishes and three terrific goals, so credit to the boys. The penalty save was a big moment. If that goes in, then it’s 3-2 and Stoke get that extra bit of momentum and who knows the impact that has on us and the game as a whole. We’re obviously disappointed to give the penalty away, but the important part was that we recovered from it, settled back down and saw the game out.
“There was a lot of resilience in the second-half. That’s why I wanted to give the lads a lot of credit, because they’ve had a lot of criticism lately regarding defending the box and seeing games out. They managed to do that today and see out the win for three big points. It was great for John (Eustace) as the new Head Coach as a positive start. Full credit to him, because he’s been fantastic with us over the past couple of days, with both the staff and the players. I think he’s a fantastic appointment by the club and I think he’s going to be a big asset for us.
“I can absolutely understand why he wanted to come down and get involved. He’s been heavily involved over the last couple of days, so all credit to him. His presence on the touchline in the second-half really helped us and it undoubtedly gave the players that extra impetus with some instructions here and there that helped us go a long way towards seeing the game out.
“I can’t emphasise how important it is for a player to hear the backing of his own support. Credit to our fans because they were loud and backed the boys, today. When the lads needed them, they stepped up, as they always do. I’ve been here a long time and we’ve got fantastic supporters here and you could feel the togetherness. Hopefully, that now gives us the momentum as it gives us the chance to make a new start with John coming in. The three points were really important for us.
“I love Blackburn Rovers. I live in the area and my kids go to school in the town. It’s not about me, it’s about the players and the fans. The team got the win. I’m just glad that we saw the game out and got the three points that will be very important for us going forwards.”
