Before the Luton game tomorrow Tony Mowbray has told the players to enjoy these last nine games with no pressure as it gives us a good challenge to test ourselves in the run-in.
ENJOY THE CHALLENGE
“I think we are where we are, I wouldn’t say we are out of form. I think the team is giving everything they’ve got and trying their best. I don’t think we are out of form because it’s competing, and when you play against good teams it’s really difficult to get results. We went to Norwich and won 1-0, to answer your direct question I don’t think it’s fair. Luton have obviously found ways to win football matches recently, they have won 1-0 three times on the bounce. So, they are defensively very solid, not to mention they are very physical and powerful at the top end of the pitch. Luton and Burnley both have the best away records in the League, so they make life really difficult. They get the ball up quickly to their two big strikers, they are athletic and strong. It’s a big challenge for us, but there are a few of them coming and Norwich was a big challenge, and so was Sheffield United. But that’s ok, because as I’ve constantly said it’s all a learning curve for the players, and we should enjoy the challenge of playing against these teams.”
STILL ACCLIMATISING
“Yeah, I think they do. What you're not doing is putting into context the team we are putting out, and that team is giving everything it’s got, and it’s very difficult to win against these teams because they are better than us. But, when I say better I mean hugely more experienced and have a better understanding of the division. However, I think we are competing in just about every game this season, and obviously the one that jumps out is Stoke at home when we lost pretty heavily, but apart from that we have competed pretty well in every game. There is not much in it between all the teams in the league, so sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. I don’t think we are in bad form because we can’t win games, and we’ve won games when we’ve played worse than we have in games that we have lost. We are trying to compete week in, week out and because of the diversity of the league we have some really strong experienced teams, and some really good footballing teams. So, every game is different and we are trying to acclimatise to the qualities of the division.”
LAST NINE GAMES
“Enjoy the football, try and keep growing as a team, we keep getting thrown different challenges that we have to get through without certain players. Some players that are coming back that are not quite ready, but we put them on the bench and give them a bit of time. I think the team has competed well for the vast majority of the season in most of the games, and that’s what we have to do for the last nine games. We will see how we go and see how many points we will get. Then we will see where we finish in the league.”
PLAYOFF GAP
“I’ve been saying that you have to win games if you want to get in the playoffs, and when we are not winning games the gap gets bigger and bigger, so it becomes more difficult. Three or four weeks ago, it was something the fans were probably dreaming about, but it’s becoming more difficult now. But, from our perspective it’s not dragging us down. We have to concentrate on the next game. Before the Sheffield United game I was talking to the team, and I said that these games are all big events, so let’s take them on each game at a time and we will see where it takes us. Without worrying about the league table, let’s just play the games. That’s what we’re doing, I think it’s very obvious for people outside of the team to look at the table and think about where we could finish. I think the footballers need to compete in the division, and test themselves against the players in this league, so we can then try to improve and get better. So, when we have another go we can get more points, and the club can move closer to its end goal, which is trying to get back to the Premier League within the next few years.”
