James Maxwell insists Rovers still have a way to go in order to reach the standards they are striving for on the pitch but believes three consecutive wins show they are heading in the right direction.
Maxwell scored the only goal of the game as Rovers saw off Barrow for a third consecutive win and third straight clean sheet.
Maxwell on how the game played out:
“It was definitely a tough game. We knew what they were going to be and that it was going to be different from the game against Swindon and first and second contacts would be vital for us.
“I thought after the first ten or 15 minutes that we got to grips with that really well. They gave us a right good go, especially in the second half. But the boys and especially the centre halves and Mitch [Jonathan Mitchell] were brilliant.
“At their place they overran us with a lot of energy but here I think it was the complete opposite. You could see how much energy we bring to it these days. We need to do that all time and play with that intensity.”
On the progress of the team:
“It’s not been easy. Results have been indifferent at times. But I don’t want to talk about turning corners or anything like that. We’ve said it at different parts of the season and it’s not come to fruition. It’s a boring cliche but it’s just a game at a time now and building on each one. We’re nowhere near where we want to be in terms of our actual football but I think now we’re finding a bit more of a balance while we’re in that transition in terms of showing a bit more grit and the dirty side of the game to allow football to take over.
“Even when we lost a couple of games in a row, I think the underlying numbers were still really good. But we kept that belief in ourselves when others outside the group didn’t have that in us. We kept the same consistent messages, even if results don’t go our way because it’s performance-based. Eventually, hopefully, we get more results like we’ve had in the last few.”
On a good night personally:
“I think you have to enjoy nights like this one because it doesn’t happen a lot where everything comes together for you. I’m obviously delighted to get a goal and it’s something I’ve said previously that I want to build on and getting more goals because I am hitting those areas.
“It’s not going to win goal of the season but if I can get a few more of them between now and the end of the season all the better.
“The build-up was an example of the stuff that we work on in training with the combinations. We lost the ball and we were straight back on it to get it back out to the right, the cross comes in and we’ve got numbers in the box. It doesn’t always work out but it did in this one.”