In the build-up to tonight’s evening clash away at Oxford United, Tony Mowbray sat down with the club’s media team to discuss the potential threat of the hosts, as well as the three points that the team successfully earned at Bury on Saturday.
“On the back of victories, we need to try and keep confidence high in order to take the good vibes into Tuesday night against Oxford, to see if we can keep rolling along. It’s not been easy to keep a stretch of confidence going and extending our good runs because we’ve been playing against some highly motivated opposition, some good players and every team’s organised and tough. The plan is to take the confidence into the Oxford game, who themselves won at the weekend, try to ask questions of them and try to come out with the three points.
“Oxford United will see this as an opportunity, under the lights, to claim a big scalp. We have to be ready for the challenge because we know they’re a good team with some experienced footballers. We’ll go and impose ourselves on them and try and get a result. The players are professional; I have a part to play in making sure our preparation for the game is right, that they have a cause to fight for and reiterating the responsibility of putting on a Blackburn Rovers shirt. We’ll try and find the edge that will help us win the game and hopefully the players will be motivated and competitive, despite the away following, understandably, not being as much as it was at Bury.”
The manager was asked how pleased he was with the fact that the team had the best defensive record away from home and whether the players were aware of such an achievement.
“I don’t really throw stats at the players; I expect them to perform with the amount of quality we possess in the squad. I think (Ryan) Nyambe has brought power and strength to the side, (Paul) Caddis is a different type of footballer who’s also played his part in our performances. Derrick Williams has also been very consistent this year; with a player of Charlie Mulgrew’s quality, you’d expect him, as an international footballer to be decent at League One level and Paul Downing has also been very solid at the back besides Charlie, keeping a number of clean sheets, as has David Raya who’s improving all the time due to his exposure to the first team, this season.
“As the manager, you need to be wary with your team selections, particularly round the winter months and the Christmas periods where the games come thick and fast. You need to find the right balance in playing somebody consecutively, and also giving them a rest so that they don’t over-do it and end up getting injured, which ultimately affects the team as a whole. Caring about the players is also key to being a manager, if I wanted to play someone in 2 games time who just played the last game, I’d leave them out of the one in between in order to keep them fit, but also in the hope that the team can keep winning after making a few changes to the side.
“The dressing room is vital to any football team, whether you win or lose, it’s crucial that the players stick together. Thankfully, we’ve got a good group of lads here that stick together regardless of the result. They generally leave the training ground having listened and absorbed everything that we’ve told them and I’m hoping that over 46 games, the camaraderie, quality and experience they’ve got will help us push towards the top end of the table.
“Ryan Nyambe, who I touched upon before, has good attributes for his position in this division, but I’m wary of not hyping him up too much as he’s still very young and has a lot of room for improvement. I think generally, any left-winger that faces him will have a hard time getting past him due to his power and strength; however he needs to work on his game going forwards and when we’re in control of the ball. He needs to know when to pick the right pass and when to make the correct runs forward or to support a winger. He just has to keep developing and keep learning.”
Mowbray was also asked about injuries and whether Craig Conway and Ben Gladwin would be fit enough in time to make the game on Tuesday night.
“Craig’s on the grass, but he’s not training with the group, I’d have to say that there’s no rush for him at the moment. I had a chat with him on Sunday and I think he’s conscious that we don’t need to rush him back, he’s a bit frustrated himself as he’s had inconsistent runs in the side due to the injuries he’s picked up, so whilst we’re not in a rush to bring him back, I think he needs to take a week on the grass, in training with the team to feel that he’s ready and chomping at the bit to get back in the side. Ben will be a little bit longer than Conway I think, he’s just tweaked his knee, it’s nothing serious and I’m sure he’ll be back in training over the next week. We’ll keep him in training, similarly to Craig, in order to try and feel them back into the squad.”
