Rovers manager Paul Dickov speaks more about the sides dramatic 2-1 win over Watford on Tuesday night.
“I enjoyed that in the end. It was a tough game for us, Watford are a very good team. I thought once we went 1-0 up until they equalised, we looked really nervy. I know it can be difficult sometimes playing against ten men and Watford to their credit, worked their socks off and made it very difficult for us. But after they equalised we got back to doing the right thing and we moved the ball well, we got the ball wide, we got crosses in the box and got shots on goal."I’m delighted with the three points but if we’re being honest about it we probably should have scored three or four!”
How significant a win is that?
“It’s a massive win for us. It’s important not to get too carried away with that but we knew it was important to really build on the win we got against Huddersfield on Saturday, especially with the way our home form has been lately, and the result against Bournemouth last week. It is a massive three points for us.”
James Coppinger came back into the side tonight and played in a right back role. What did you think of that?
“I thought he was fantastic. With James it’s something we’ve spoken about before, especially when we’ve come up against teams who play with three at the back, and James is such a hard worker and a real professional. He is a clever player, he switches on not just with his position but other positions as well, and our aim was to push the wing backs up the field and get in those attacking situations. We did that for the majority of the game and I thought to come into that role he did fantastic.
"A lot of credit has to go to him tonight and throughout the whole season. He is 33 now and has played almost every game and to come into that position tonight I thought was excellent. I don’t believe it was a gamble because James is such a clever player- you could put him in most positions and you know he will go and do a job for you.”
On Gabi Tamas..
“Gabi has got a fractured cheekbone. He took a knock on Saturday and will be out for 4-6 weeks which is a big blow for us, especially after the way him and Meite played on Saturday together, but talking about that I thought James Coppinger and Paul Quinn did a fantastic job together tonight. Meite came off after feeling his hamstring tighten up, just as a precaution. We didn’t want to take any risks with him, but Luke McCullough came in the second half and did a good job. We’re trying to get a defender in on loan at the moment and hopefully that will happen before Saturday.”
“We are also speaking to Villa about extending Jordan Bowery's loan. He hasn’t been involved in the last couple of games, but I still think Jordan will be a big player for us between now and the end of the season.”
That’s what you’ve bought Billy in to do isn’t it?
“It is. With the chances we created and the two chances Billy missed nine times out of ten he would have scored. I thought about changing it and trying to get Jordan and Theo on, but I just had a feeling with the way the boys were relentless and the way we were playing that we were going to sneak a goal. After they scored the equaliser we put a lot of pressure on them and their keeper has pulled off a couple of great saves.
"But I just had a feeling that we were going to get that winner tonight and that’s why you keep Billy Sharp on the pitch, to score those goals. He showed it at Blackpool, he showed it against Huddersfield and he showed it again tonight. He keeps getting himself in the right positions at the right time. That’s what we’ve missed this year- someone to put the chances away and that’s what Billy Sharp does best.”
David Cotterill has come in the last couple of games and shown what he is capable of?
“David deserves a lot of credit. He’s been very professional when he hasn’t been playing and he’s kept himself fit, he’s sharp and he’s confident. It takes a lot to do that when you’re not playing week in week out and he’s been brilliant since coming back in.”
“We have to give Watford a lot of credit tonight- they worked their socks off and made it really difficult for us, especially going down to ten men. They made us work hard and for a period of the game I thought we switched off and stopped doing the things that gave us the lead in the first place, which is when we looked threatened. Luckily when they scored we switched on again and starting playing good football.
"I just want the players to keep doing the right things and after they scored the equaliser we put lots of pressure on them again and showed what we are capable of. We wanted to get some pride back after the Bournemouth defeat and I feel like we did that again tonight. You shouldn’t just get your pride back by winning one game, you’ve got to work hard all the time. Just because that game has gone doesn’t mean you forget about it.
"The most pleasing thing for me is that the boys haven’t lost heart, they kept going right until the very end and kept piling the pressure on and creating chances. In the end, we got our reward and I thought we deserved to win the game."