Following Rovers’ underwhelming 2-2 draw at home to Oldham Athletic, which saw the home side come back from 2-0 down to claim a point, Rovers boss Tony Mowbray reflected on what was, a whirlwind game, with the clubs’ media team.
“I think the overriding emotion today is one of disappointment and frustration. We did a bit of work on Oldham during the week and there’s a frustration towards their first goal, as we never planned to whip corners in, unless (Charlie) Mulgrew was taking them from the right, as it would have just allowed their ‘keeper to pluck the ball out the sky and send a 70-yard ball forwards, which is what happened during the build-up to their first goal.
“There was a bit of frustration during half-time in the dressing room. We needed to make some changes and needed to change the direction that the game was going in and with huge credit to the players, they went out and levelled the scoring. To score the equaliser with enough time to get a winner, is another frustration for us as I think we needed to be a bit more patient with the ball, especially with them going down to 10 men. That being said, Jack Payne had a great strike that was denied by the ‘keeper, (Adam) Armstrong’s header was inches wide of the post, but despite that, we’ll take the point. Once you come in and see that your closest rivals have lost, it kind of compounds the frustrations a little bit, but for us, it’s a point closer to our goal, we still have 15 games left, which is a third of the season, left to go, so we shouldn’t be too disappointed.
“Hopefully today is the start of another unbeaten run. It was important that we didn’t lose today, yet at one point, it looked like we were going to lose, but I have to give the lads great credit as they found a way not to lose the match today, which could have seen us go on a potential losing streak.”
Mowbray was asked as to whether his half-time team talk was harsh, or whether he took a calmer approach with the players, considering the circumstances that Rovers were in.
“You could say that my words at half-time were ‘a bit harsh’, but ultimately, I’m disappointed for the players. We all have a common goal that we want to achieve and we’ve given ourselves a fantastic platform to try and gain promotion. This is our jobs, this is what we do, I’m sure every one of those players wants to play in the Premier League, so they have to turn up on matchdays. In training, they need to maintain their discipline, work hard and have the freedom to enjoy the atmosphere around the club, but on matchdays, they need to turn up and the first-half today wasn’t good enough. We lacked intensity, urgency and desire in the first 45 minutes, yet in the second, that all turned. The frustration for me is the visibility of the swing in mentality, and the positive mentality they showed in the second-half needs to be instilled within them from the first whistle.
“Young Lewis Travis was good when he came on, that’s why we gave him a new contract. We need to be conscious of the players that have got us to where we are in the league, and Travis’ been given his opportunity through some injuries to some regular first team players, however if Lewis gets on the pitch and performs like he did today, then he’ll stay in the team. I’ve told all the players that there won’t be any favourites in this side, so they’ll have to perform on the pitch when they’re asked to. Coming on in the scenario that he did should give Lewis huge confidence. He seamlessly changed positions throughout the game, going from right-back to centre-midfield showing his versatility. He is a very mature young lad, he’s always knocking on my door asking for opportunities to play either in the first-team or with the under-23s, which shows he’s a keen lad and is hungry to play football, which we have to feed.
“It’s fantastic to see Adam score, as it’s his 21st birthday today, which is a fantastic gift for him. He would have been disappointed not to have been picked in the starting line-up, but I just felt that the balance of the team needed to be less attacking. They’re a good side, with a lot of good footballers, which they displayed throughout the first 45 minutes, despite that, we eventually manage to push them back and got the point that we deserved after that second-half performance. We’re disappointed not to have gotten all three points, but with both Wigan and Shrewsbury losing, we’ll take that point, put it in the bag, and keep moving on.”
