After the completion of the international break, Tony Mowbray returned to his usual media duties and spoke to the clubs’ media team about Aston Villa, and how he was expecting his side to react, following their last game before the break, which was a heavy 4-1 defeat away at Bristol City. The boss also provided an update regarding the well-being of the squad.
“I believe the international break came at a decent time for us. We’d played around, 8 games in a pretty short period of time and the break has allowed us to reduce the intensity of the training sessions that we do every day. Apart from Charlie (Mulgrew), Corry (Evans) and Ben (Brereton), who all went away with their respective nations, the rest of the team have been training this week in preparation for Saturday against Aston Villa, which we’re all looking forward to.
“We’ve had some good training days, over the break, but we’ve mainly been working on the tactical side of the game, rather than the physical side. We’ve been looking at various scenarios, such as how we might chase a game if we need a goal, or how we can maintain a slender lead if we’re winning with 10 minutes left.
“The selection headache is now a good one, following a positive summer. I think we have good cover in a lot of areas, but we still missed out on some targets during the window who I believed would have strengthened us even further. Despite some long-terms injuries to Ben Gladwin and Dominic Samuel – both of which I don’t think will participate further in this campaign, the rest of the lads – bar Jacob Davenport who picked up a slight knock over the break – are fit and raring to get back on track, starting with Villa on Saturday.
“I’ve talked to the lads, since the Bristol City game, about how they should have been 2-0 up at the break, despite coming in level at 1-1, which ultimately gave Bristol a boost going into the second-half. I also talked to them about the positivity from that game, and how we went away from home and caused Bristol City a lot of problems, which is something we should continue to do.
“I think the lads should be proud of the home record they’ve set. They’ve gone, nearly a year now, without losing at home in the league and it’s something that they should try and continue, starting against Villa on Saturday. Saturday’s game against Aston Villa isn’t about ‘bouncing back’, it’s about finding our performance levels, and turning up at kick-off.
“I don’t have to talk about how big of a club Aston Villa are, having both played and managed against them at Villa Park. They have an enormous, passionate fan base who will no doubt be at Ewood in their numbers, but it’s up to our lads to put in the performance and embrace the challenge, in order to send our supporters home happy. I’m also in no doubt that Steve Bruce will have his side prepared, but the players now need to use the excitement of the game, in our favour.”
The manager rounded off his interview by talking about Bradley Dack and Jack Rodwell, and whether either of them would be ready to play, come 3pm on Saturday.
“Brad has been training during the last couple of days, and I think, barring a reaction, he should be ready for Saturday, which will be key, as it’s been a while since he has been available for selection. Jack Rodwell isn’t far off contention as well. I think Jack needs a competitive game against another club, such as an under-23s game to ready himself, before he becomes fully available for the first-team. He’s consistently trained with the lads every day and he’s looked very assured whilst doing so. Saying all that, I don’t think it’ll be long before his name creeps into the first-team picture.”
