Lee Johnson was happy to see his side beat Accrington Stanley 2-0 in an ugly encounter at the Wham Stadium…
ATTITUDE
"I thought we showed good attitude and good energy. It was a difficult game. Obviously it was a battle, it was always going to be a battle – a footballing battle. Both sides tried to play but at times it did get scrappy and we had to deal with it.”
ROSS STEWART
"It was a good change in terms of big Rosco ready to come on. I think we needed a bit more of a platform, it was asking Charlie to do a lot against three big lads so just a little tactical tweak there and we’re delighted for him. We’ve missed him, I think, and now it’s one game, one goal, one medal! We signed him to be a key part of the squad. We spent money, and no-one is really spending money, so I think it goes to show how much we believe in him. I think it was a coup. He’s tall, he’s mobile, he’s got a good touch and he’s big. No disrespect to Ross County, but he’ll probably be getting more chances in our team maybe than he did. He spent a lot of time defending for Ross and here, hopefully he can spend a lot of time attacking. Very pleased with that one and delighted for him. It’s a big club to come to and sometimes it can be a bit frustrating for the lad. He’s come in with an injury, he’s had a re-occurrence and he needs to find his gravitas. He’s taken a step towards that today.”
INJURIES
"First to return would probably be O’Brien. Second Jordan, and Bailey – they’ll be pretty close. With the Bailey one, it’s a bit frustrating because sort of maybe pushed him a little bit too early to try and make the final, and that just set him back a little bit.”
PSYCHOLOGY
"We spent a good hour talking about controlling the controllables. I think sometimes that tension can set in, in moments like this – and I think it did a bit on Sunday, to be honest with you. I didn’t think we were as fluid as we could be. I know it sounds a bit sports psychy, but I guess it is. For the first time in a long time, these players are actually getting adulation and people are seeing what they do as positive – and we all are. And actually this is time to ignore it, as strange as it sounds, and focus on the things we can control. We couldn’t control the pitch today, we couldn’t control the opposition’s good play, but what we did do was control our attitude, our tempo and our battling qualities to go and get a very good win.”
MOMENTUM
"It’s performance momentum, isn’t it? They did have a couple of chances, make no mistake. They’re a big side and from set-plays they looked dangerous. But I think in general play we were pretty solid and pretty composed in the way we played. I’m happy that we could use the squad as well. There’s boys chomping at the bit and we’ve got really good players to come back in from injury. It’s nice to have the options going into the last eight weeks.”
