Before he laces up his boots for what could be the final time this season, Dan Neil spoke about the season and how we’ve ended up where we are at this point in the campaign. He’s also not focusing on the playoffs, yet, all the focus is on getting past Preston.
INITIAL TARGET
“Initially, this season, it was a case of, ‘Let’s just stay in the league. But now, we’re thinking, ‘Why not? Why can’t we go up this year?”
WHEN IS RIGHT?
“When is the right time to go to the Premier League? When will you get your next opportunity? We’ve got an opportunity this year, and I think we need to go all guns blazing to try to take it.”
JUST GO AND WIN
“In the last three weeks, all the results have massively gone in our favour really. We probably couldn’t have dreamed of a better scenario, other than beating Watford last weekend, which would have been a bit better. We’ve given ourselves every chance – we just need to go to Preston and get a win, and hopefully everything will go our way.”
UPS AND DOWNS
“There have been so many ups and downs over the course of the season. We were going great, but then we had that little spell around February time, around the time of the Rotherham game, and that just seemed to take the wind out of everyone’s sails.”
HOPES WERE DASHED… UNTIL
“I think that was the point where everyone really thought, ‘Right, it’s not going to happen’. Then we picked up again, but when we drew the game against Huddersfield, again I think people probably thought, ‘Right, that’s it’. But then we’ve kept plugging away and we’ve just had a run where other results have gone our way. We’re unbeaten since the international break, we’ve picked up good points and good wins, and we’re right back in the mix now.”
NOT MUCH PRESSURE
“It doesn’t feel like there’s been a lot of pressure, probably because at various stages, people have probably thought that it’s too much for us. That’s meant that we’ve been able to go out there and not really have to think about the bigger picture. We’ve been able to just go out there and play.”
MOWBRAYS TRUST
“The trust that he’s placed in me has been phenomenal. I can’t thank him enough. Obviously, with Corry getting injured and the lack of experience in midfield, because that got sprung upon me, it’s developed me into a different type of player, or at least added another string to my bow. Off the pitch, I think I’ve matured a bit, and part of that is down to the manager keeping faith in me and trusting me to go out there and do the job. I can’t thank him enough for that.”
FOCUS ON PRESTON FIRST
“I know it’s a cliché, but there’s no point thinking about the Premier League yet. Ultimately, we need to beat Preston. If we don’t beat Preston, then there’s no point even talking about the play-offs or promotion or anything like that. We need to go and beat Preston, hopefully things go our way, and then we can look forward to the play-offs from there.”
