Mallik Wilks said Rovers were great value for their Emirates FA Cup third round win over Sky Bet Championship Preston North End on Sunday and were fully deserving of their progression to the next stage.
Wilks sealed things with Rovers’ third goal in the 3-1 win at Deepdale with Rovers progressing to the fourth round of the cup for the first time since 2010, and the striker says the result could be a catalyst for the rest of the season.
“Everyone in the dressing room is buzzing after that, we’re all feeding off each other’s positive energy, we just want to keep this going in the league now, keep this great form going and really kick on,” he said.
“It’s a great feeling to get into the next round of the cup, we came here and played with no fear, we controlled the game throughout, so we’re fully deserving of our win I think.
“For me, this ranks as the best game I’ve ever played in, I’d even probably put it higher than making my debut, I managed to get myself in the right area for my goal and anticipated the ball coming to me, and I just knew the ball would fall for me.”
Wilks extended his stay at the Keepmoat Stadium until the end of the season on New Year’s Day, with Sunday’s strike his ninth goal in 32 appearances, and for the Leeds United loanee, promotion is the only aim.
“I’m buzzing to be here for the rest of the season now, I’ve got that security and I’m ready to push on. I had a few options, but I didn’t want to go anywhere else, the end goal for me is getting promotion and I want to achieve that here,” he added.
“Winning against Preston shows that there’s no one we should be worried about in our own league if we can turn it on like we have against a Championship team.
“I think this result really puts down a marker for us, we’ve shown that we’re able to cut it against teams in a higher division than where we are, and we can really use this as motivation in our promotion push.”
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