Danny Schofield praised the battling qualities of his Rovers side as they emerged from a trip to Newport County with three points.
Kyle Knoyle’s second half strike set Rovers on their way to a 1-0 triumph that was built on a bedrock of resolve and organisation.
And while admitting he expects even better from his side in possession, Schofield was pleased with how competitive they were in off-the-ball moments.
Schofield on how the game played out:
“It was fantastic. You come a long way from home and to travel back with the three points is excellent.
“There was a few changes, a few illnesses in there and a few knocks we took on the Friday. The lads who came in did really well.
“It was disappointing to go in at 0-0. We had three big chances and a couple of really good chances in the second half.
“Overall, I think the performance deserved the win.
“I don’t think it was the best football that we’ve played but we showed another side to our game where we can be competitive and win duels. I always speak about the fundamentals and I thought we were good at those.
“It was pleasing to come away from home and restrict them to very few chances. Their only threats were the balls dropping from set plays and we dealt with that very well.
“I said at half time what would win us the game would be how physical they wanted to be in their duels and that whatever their size, be really competitive, attack with aggression and our quality moments would take care of themselves.”
On Kyle Knoyle’s goal:
“It was excellent. He recognised the space was there, strolled into it and struck it really well. I’m pleased for him.”
On ending a difficult run of results:
“You go back to back defeats and feel don’t lose a third. It’s important you get to winning ways.
“On the flip side, you win back to back games and you’re in a better place.
“It was imperative that we put the performance on to really go for the victory and stop that losing run.
“I try to stay balanced as possible but it’s difficult. I’m in football because I love it and it’s all I know. The pressure you create on yourself, you have to control it and channel it in the right way.
“I think we all did that as a group of staff and the players did that as well.
“To stop the little run of defeats was pleasing.
“Hopefully we get the players back that we didn’t have in this one and it gives me a headache when picking the team to face Harrogate next week.”
On Charlie Seaman:
“Charlie has been excellent in training and deserved that start.
“I was concerned with how many minutes we could give him because he’s not played a lot of football. I was thinking about changing it after 60 minutes but he was good to go and I think he played well.”