Following Rovers’ convincing 2-0 win over Rotherham United on Tuesday evening, a happy Tony Mowbray spoke to the club’s media team as the manager heaped praise onto his players as they carried out a thoroughly professional job.
“I’m much happier after that performance; I think the dressing room can feel what’s required of them. We did a bit of work this week on our movement and our passing as opposed to making sure we were solid defensively which is what we worked on last week. It was all about getting the balance right as I said after Saturday’s game, we forgot to play football and we’re a good team with some good players, and yet if you’ve got good players you have to utilise them and we spent more time on Saturday making it hard for Shrewsbury to score rather than focusing on our own game.
“Tonight was all about playing through lines, spreading the ball wide, receiving on the half-turn , playing forwards, running in behind and they showed they could do it tonight. The game was a bit closer than it should have been really, I know that we could have gone in-front right from the first minute, but we went from probably the worst performance of the season, to probably the best. We were brilliant, particularly in the first 45 minutes and to keep a clean sheet was great as well especially against a team that are second in the country in terms of goal scored, only behind Man City.
“We could have a lot more than two tonight and there seems to be an element of frustration around the dressing room; Dominic (Samuel) is frustrated that he hasn’t scored; Marcus (Antonsson) is frustrated that he hasn’t got a hattrick, I’m delighted for Harry (Chapman) of course, who’s been so good coming off of the bench recently. They’re all doing fine, Whittingham could have scored as well right at the death and he’s someone who can bring some composure and some quality in his forward passing to the side. I thought Sam Hart came off the bench as well and showed everybody what he’s got; he’s fast, he’s dynamic and he’s got a wonderful left foot.
“I’m happy to have gotten the points; I think it was an important week for us as I’ve talked about trying to improve our home form so that we get most of our points here at Ewood. I think that, that was a dangerous game tonight against a team that’s free-scoring and have a big 6’5” centre-forward who can cause teams a lot of problems, so it’s great to get it out of the way, great to get the points, we have to really focus in on Gillingham now, who are on the wrong end of the table. I’ve just said to the lads that as soon as the final whistle blew and I was walking down the tunnel, my mind was focused on Gillingham. It’s also going to be a dangerous game, a game where if we don’t turn up, it’ll be like the game against Wimbledon, a team that works extraordinarily hard, they’ll have to show their new manager what they’re capable of. They got a 0-0 tonight which showed that they were very resilient and hard to play against, so we have to show our quality at the weekend, try to pick up maximum points and keep taking each game as it comes.”
The manager was asked, following his statement that first 45 minutes was the best Rovers have played this season, whether that level of performance would be the standard that the players should reach in every game from now on.
“I think so, at home, that’s what we have to do, we have to be brave, we have to play, we have to spread out, we have to pass it through lines, we have to come into the spaces and the hole and we have to run in behind and threaten and I thought we did it all tonight. I thought we were pretty decent in spells during certain games this season; we were alright early on in the game against Doncaster despite the fact it ran away from us and the game against Wimbledon at times, we were alright. Tonight, I thought we were better than the last couple of games, but we didn’t get the rewards and I thought it was going to be one of those nights, but it was important to win. I’m delighted with the first half performance as I’ve just said to the players; you can’t expect to dominate 90 minutes of a game unless you are out of sight and your opposition have given up but at 1-0, Rotherham were always going to have a spell in the game where they were going to ask questions of us and they did, but we managed to see it out and we got the victory in the end.
“They all played their part tonight. There isn’t a part of the team that I don’t particularly like; I think we just have to understand what it takes to win in each game. The league is quite different as you’ve seen how good teams like Scunthorpe and Bradford can be with the ball, we have to be resilient and hard to play against in those games but there are other games were we really have to expand, play wide, play two strikers, play through the lines and ask questions of our opposition. It’s just about trying to get the balance each week of how we’re going to set up, how we’re going to try and get the victory because I don’t think the league allows you to simply turn up and play, you have to know how you’re going to get results and we work hard every week on how we’re going to set up and what the formula is to try and get the result and tonight’s game was to spread out, pass and ask questions of the opposition.”
Mowbray was also asked if he believed that the fans enjoyed the game as well as just the victory itself.
“Yeah, I think they would have liked a few more goals of course, but I’m sure they enjoyed the chances as they came. I thought Antonsson could have had a hattrick tonight; Dominic was so unlucky with a few efforts as well, one hit the bar, one flew over the top, he hit the post as well, he needs a goal, but he’s working extremely hard and his hold-up play is improving game by game. It’s also great for Chapman to score, I know the fans want him to start and there’ll be a spell at some stage this season where he will start games, at this moment he’s a very young boy who’s making a big impact from the bench and at this moment, I think it’s best for our club, best for our team that he’s an impact player, because we do need to be solid defensively and stay in football matches. He understands that, he’s not banging on my office door demanding to play games; he’s a young boy who’s learning the game.
“Everybody likes Harry, he’s a fantastic kid, he’s living away from home at such a young, delicate age, he’s great to watch in training, he’s a bit grumpy sometimes, which may develop into a new nickname for him, but he’s showed his talent and his quality and when I turn around, needing something to happen on the pitch, he’s usually the first guy I look at. He’s come off the bench in more than one game to have a positive impact, such as MK Dons and Shrewsbury. Tonight he came on and ten seconds later, he’s whizzed past two or three players and managed to put a ball into the box. I’m happy with it, happy with the performance and the points, happy for the fans that they’ve witnessed a home victory, let’s try and follow it up at the weekend with a positive performance and we’ll go into the international break following our Checkatrade Trophy game next Tuesday. It’s important that we keep picking up points so that when we play our games in hand, we’ll hopefully get some positive results which will make the league look a lot more even.”
