Mallik Wilks says Rovers first-half performance was key to blowing Walsall away and earning a big three points in the race for the Sky Bet League One play-offs.
Wilks won a penalty inside two minutes, going on to score just a couple minutes later as Rovers opened up a strong lead inside the opening stages, going on to beat the Saddlers 3-1 at home, and the forward says it was that quick start that sealed the deal.
“It was a great performance from the team, all the lads really grafted and to go two goals up inside the first four or five minutes of the game is great, we came off it a bit after that and conceded, but the third really killed it off,” he said.
“I got kicked about a fair few times, but I just take that in my stride and turn it on them by scoring goals, I don’t even remember my goal but obviously I’ve taken it down the right and hit it, when I looked up, it’s in the far corner.
“The new style of our play has worked well over the last couple of games, obviously we’ve had two big misses in the middle recently, but we’ve come through it well and it really suits the players we have in there.”
Rovers went five points clear of the chasing pack with Saturday’s win at the Keepmoat Stadium, a place where they have gone unbeaten since the end of October, and Wilks says these last two home games especially have been crucial to building momentum in the hunt for the top six.
“We haven’t lost here in a long time now and that’s a big bonus for us, it’s very rare that a team will come here and beat us, we’re making it a difficult place to come for other teams to take points off us,” he added.
“We haven’t had too many back-to-back losses this season, so this week has been crucial for us to build some momentum, we’re all playing with a lot of freedom, and everyone is really back on their high horse.
“We all feel that we can go up, James Coppinger even said in the dressing room that this is one of the best squads he’s worked with whilst he’s been here, it really does feel that we’ve got a good chance to do something special now.”