Provided the lads do the business on Monday and get three points we should be in the Playoffs, with that in mind Mowbray spoke about his experiences in the playoffs, both as a player and a manager.
BEST TIME AS MANAGER
“I think every season is a rollercoaster really, I would have to say generally where I’ve managed over the last 20 years it’s probably West Brom, there was an expectation because they were a relegated team, hadn’t started too well but had really good players and there was an expectation to make sure you bounce straight back.”
DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS
“There’s different expectations. You know I think with this club there was no expectation we should roll straight through two back to back promotions, the feedback was consolidation, hopefully we’re not fighting relegation, middle of the table, be okay this year. The team have done extremely well considering the circumstances surrounding some injuries, situations we’ve had. We go into the last game with excitement for the supporters and hopefully we can win a football match and see what accrues on the back of it. I think every season is a rollercoaster, you have good days and you’ll know the stats better than me, there’ll have been spells this season, I read a stat the other day we’d only won one of the last eight at home, c’mon if we’d have won half of our games we’d have been nine points away, we’d be threatening the top two and yet it’s hard, football’s not easy, nobody gives you anything you have to work really hard and you have to have the ingredients to win football matches.”
TAKING INSPIRATION FROM THE BEST
“I sat and watched that game [Man City vs West Ham], the best team in the country playing West Ham, West Ham played 45, made it really difficult for them and kept putting balls in the box, heading it out and in the end they [Man City] found a way really, they kept going and I think them are the messages I say to our team, you have to keep going and knocking on the door, we’ve been trying to do that without Erling Haaland too, 6’5, fast as the wind, elusive and whatever you want to call him but we’ve been trying to find a way to be relentless and keep asking questions of teams and find a way to win football matches. So let’s see what happens with this weekend or this Monday and how does it compare to all the other seasons? Alright, good, some great days there’s nothing better than winning football matches. On a Sunday you’ve won, you feel comfortable, you're watching your sons play footy on the park field, sun is shining, it's great. Other days you’ve got beat you’ve got your hood up and you don’t want to talk to people who want to know about the result and it's pouring down, blowing a gale, dogs not happy sitting at your feet, he wants to go out on a run, they’re hard weekends so up and down I think.”
PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE
"As a manager, well I got beat in a playoff final once, we obviously got to the finals that year. As a footballer at Ipswich Town we had four years on the bounce in the playoffs, first three got beat in the semi finals last one we won at Wembley, as a manager I say at West Brom we got beat in the final, Boro as a player a few times, didn’t have playoffs in Scotland. I’ve had lots of playoff experience to be honest, last day of the season looking for results and stuff I don’t really try to get wrapped up in that I said to the staff I don’t want the analysts telling me the score, I’m not interested, if there's something dramatic then no problem, come over and whisper in my here what's happened but I have to focus on us winning this football match and making sure everybody’s at it and at the end of the day what will be will be and I can’t change that, all I can affect is the game in front of us.”
