Lee Johnson met the press following our 2-1 win against Port Vale in the League Cup, in which we fielded a youthful side…
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
"It was a really good learning experience for us. I wasn't too vocal on the side-lines because I wanted the young lads to try and solve the problems, the seniors to help them solve it. I thought we coped; at times we should have had more spells than we did. I think that's a little bit to their quality, and a little bit probably due to a lack of cohesion on our part. That XI probably hasn't had the same level of work as the lads who started against Wigan. What you would say is a lot of those young lads stepped up in front of a proper crowd. That's what you try and focus on. You want to win the game, get in the hat, and also a club come out of it in a stronger position. I thought we did that, by winning against a really senior Port Vale side where we've learned a lot. We could have been a bit more confident at times, especially in the first half where we probably had five or six unforced errors in good positions. Part of that I thought was down to quite a sticky pitch, and they're a well-versed League Two side, with a lot of experience. We had to cope, and generally we did. Obviously, we've given a poor goal away and that made it a proper cup tie, but we coped."
HAWKES
"I thought he came back flying. We asked him to put the work in ahead of pre-season and he did, and in those first couple of weeks he looked really strong, really fit. He was really unfortunate in getting COVID, which definitely knocked him back four or five weeks. What I want from Josh is that last fifteen minutes of the first half more often, he's so dangerous when he gets in those positions, he can really deliver with a bit of violence and venom. He can come inside and strike it, go outside. That first goal is a great one from a team perspective and it's obviously a great finish from Josh."
TRANSFERS
"We're still very much looking. I've obviously missed today in with preparation for the game, but we're ever hopeful.”
