Following Rovers’ 3-1 win over Barnet that saw the Blues go into Monday’s 2nd round FA Cup draw, Tony Mowbray summed up his team’s performance when talking to the clubs’ media team, additionally, the manager touched on Joe Nuttall, the under 23s side and Harry Chapman’s injury.
“I felt let down at half-time. I was giving some players the opportunity to stake their claim to be in the first team squad, but it wasn’t good enough in the first half. The intensity and quality weren’t there and what’s worrying is that the team’s performance levels can rise to the levels they did in the second half, but why we never started like that, I don’t know, but cup competitions are about getting over the line into the next round and we’ve managed to do that. There are not many positives today bar the fact that three strikers scored the goals. It’s great for Joe (Nuttall) to score again as he worked hard and got his reward, but overall it was a frustrating day.
“It was a difficult half-time and a difficult team-talk for me, because if that’s a judgement on a performance since the day I walked into the club to where we are now, then you’d think that we haven’t learnt very much, but the team-talk was more emotional rather than pure anger, it was a case of trying to kick-start our performance and there were a few things booted about, to be honest. It’s not right to say what happened in the dressing room at half-time and full-time but we got the reaction we were looking for and got the job done at the end.
“If you think, as a player, you’re good enough to play in the Premier League or the top end of the Championship; you’ve got to play to the best of your ability. This kind of performance against Barnet, with total respect to them, they’re fourth bottom in League 2, so as a player, you have to set your own standards. You have to play with your heart and your soul, as football’s not about taking it easy one week and playing to your full ability the next, you have to test yourself week in, week out. “
Mowbray was asked how much of an impact Joe Nuttall played in the comeback after he was brought on after the interval.
“I’m very wary of Joe as he’s got some fantastic qualities, but he’s still a young lad. He runs, he can head the ball, he can shoot off both feet and he can threat spaces in behind teams. I’m pleased for him as I was thinking of starting him today but I was hoping to get the job done by half-time if I’m being honest and obviously that wasn’t the case, but he had a great impact with the goal. His time will come and he has to keep going in order to make my life really difficult in terms of selection. I know he’s scored a lot of goals for the u23s, and I love watching our u23s, I think they’re a wonderful football team, they have a lovely camaraderie amongst themselves, there’s never a question about their desire to win any match.
“If they keep doing what they’re doing, they all get closer and closer to being in the first team because I like to play young players, however we have to win games and to ask them to get the job done is difficult at times, but to drop a player in, every now and then, is good and if they grab the opportunity like Joe has, then they’ll stay in the first team. I’ve said before that sometimes it’s hard to ask 18/19-year old kids to go out and get the job done for you against men, however there is a lot of quality at the club that is bubbling underneath and if the performances like the first half today carry on, they’ll be pushing for spots in the first team.
“I think it’s important that Jayson (Leutwiler) plays and he’s got another opportunity on Tuesday to get some game time. It’s been a bit of a wait for him, but I’m sure he’ll be fine. Goalkeepers need to play matches, but it’s very difficult because you can only play one goalkeeper and I think, in general, David Raya has done very well for us, so Jayson has to be patient, he has to bide his time, much like all the other players really, they have to be ready for when they’re going to be told that they have to play.”
Finally, the boss was asked how Harry Chapman was and how long it would be until he made a return due to the fact that he has been out with a hamstring injury that he sustained away at Wigan.
“It’s not good news, he’s got quite a severe hamstring injury and he’s going to be out for a minimum of 2 to 3 months. We have to put Harry to the back of our mind at the moment, it’s just a shame for the lad obviously and also a shame for us as he was just starting to come to the party having continuously given him appearances off the bench, which led to him starting in the 3-0 win against Portsmouth. It’s a blow for us because of the type of player he is, the individuality he brings, but the main concern is for Harry as he could do without having such a severe injury, but having spoken to the medical department here and the medical department at Middlesbrough, he’ll be given every opportunity to get fit in order for him to help us get over the line before the end of the season.”
