After Rovers’ slender 1-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers, Tony Mowbray spoke to the clubs’ media team about the game, as the boss reflected on what was ultimately, a poor performance, but a good win.
“It’s a lovely warm feeling, knowing that you’ve come out of a game like that with a victory. Throughout the game, there’s a sense of frustration and disappointment regarding how we’re playing, as the fluidity of our play and the accuracy of our passing were not there and we were not displaying the quality in possession, that everyone on the bench and in the stands know we possess, yet I’m standing here, happy, with 3 points in the bag, talking about a victory.
“Ultimately for us, as professionals, the result is everything, no matter how bad a performance may seem. I know that, further down the line, we’ll probably put in a better performance, and get nothing to show for it. We shouldn’t moan too much about today’s performance, as we should be happy with the points. We’ll now put them in the bag and turn out attentions to the visit of Rotherham United next week.
“Our players who can dance around opponents are sat on our bench, bar Bradley (Dack). Brad had a tough day today, due to their physicality and their good defensive organisation. I think, after their 7-1 defeat at West Brom, followed by their 3-0 defeat at home to Bristol City, Steve McClaren has really done a lot of work on their defensive stability and their defensive organisation, which meant that Brad didn’t have the space that his ability requires to flourish. It’s very difficult for me to pick a team without Bradley Dack, even though I knew he might struggle to get through their organised defence and deep midfielders. Somebody else had to step up and be counted, and that was ultimately Ben (Brereton) after he came off the bench. Ben has good athleticism and good legs for a young man. He has run down the outside and their lad has brought him down, but all in all, we’ll take the points, work hard in training in preparation for Rotherham, next week, in order to try and put in a better performance, with hopefully the same result.
“I hope Ben’s role in today’s win will give him the boost of confidence that he needs to excel for us. Not only does he believe in himself, but his participation also gives me the belief in him. I do believe in him as a player, and I do believe that he can alter games, he’s a powerful runner who can burst into the space ahead of him, both with and without the ball. I’m delighted for him, because he’s had a difficult couple of months whilst he’s sat, watched, listened and learned about what he needs to do to force his way into the starting line-up. He’s a brilliant lad is Ben, he hasn’t moaned about not playing, he’s just put his head down and got on with it, whilst patiently waiting for his opportunity, which came today.
“In terms of Brad’s penalty, with the game being so tight, I had it in my mind that he was going to miss, if I’m honest. It was sort of a self-protection device from my perspective, as I began to picture the worst. I was seeing pictures of him dragging it wide of the post, or him having it saved by their ‘keeper, but, fair play to Brad, he managed to tuck home the pressure penalty in style. I’m delighted for him because his goals tally is ticking along nicely and he’s added another one today, to guarantee us the points.
“The final few minutes after the goal was a collective effort by both players and fans. That’s what we have to do, that’s what this team is built on. You saw the desire from the team last week to run down the clock and you saw it today as well. I have to applaud Bradley for his great knowledge of the game, to take the ball straight into the corner flag. He’s such a talented boy and I watch him every day in training and sometimes I nudge Veno (Assistant Manager, Mark Venus) or Lowey (First Team Coach, David Lowe) and say ‘Look at his feet! He’s so quick on the ball!’ and various other complimentary remarks along those lines. It’s quite amazing how fast his feet really are when in possession of the ball. It wasn’t a game of great chances for him due to how they played, but he ultimately made the difference that secured us the points.
“The team defended really well today, and some of that credit has to go to Derrick Williams, who filled in during skipper, Charlie Mulgrew’s absence. Derrick has stepped in and filled in some pretty big boots in an almost effortless manner. He played pretty much every game at left-back last season and Amari’i Bell is giving him some competition in that position, but it’s fantastic that a player of Derrick’s ability can do play in both positions for us. His partner, (Darragh) Lenihan was good, fast, strong, athletic and it’s crazy to think that, on Thursday, we were almost ruling him out of contention, but he made a miraculous recovery and credit for that has to go to the medical staff who helped him out and kept their eyes on him.
“Next week’s game is a big one. We’ve got a big weeks’ worth of preparation ahead of us in order to thoroughly prepare for that encounter. Although they came up with us last year, they’ll be a difficult side to beat. They beat Swansea City, 2-1 today and they went to Middlesbrough and came away with a 0-0 draw a while back, which is why we need to be alert. They’re physically strong and fight for every ball, but we need to be alert and ready for a tough game where they’ll be under no pressure to come at us and attack in their numbers.”
The gaffer rounded off his interview by providing an update on David Raya, who was having some time off following the breaking of his nose in last weekend’s draw away at West Bromwich Albion.
“I think the specialist that he’s gone to see wants to wait until the swelling has died down. I think they’ll make a call on and let us know by next week, whether he needs an operation, or can get by with just a mask.”
