Danny Schofield believes his Rovers side can take plenty of heart from the manner in which they secured the win over Tranmere Rovers.
While not entirely pleased with the performance in the 2-0 triumph, Schofield was delighted with the resilience shown throughout which paved the way for the win.
Schofield on how the game played out:
“It was a good result in the end and after recent results it was an important one.
“I speak about losing consecutive games and Tranmere are a team we knew were going to be competitive, particularly after the Boxing Day game. It was much needed.
“I don’t think it was a good performance from us really in terms of the overall game but we showed a lot of desire, a lot of spirit, we were defensively very good.
“We didn’t have as much possession as we normally do in games but this is football and I felt we controlled a lot of the moments well without the ball and we took our chances well. One of them was fortunate with the deflection but Kyle Hurst took his goal in clinical fashion.
“We did’t dominate the ball as much as we have done. Stats have been heavily stacked in our favour in games that we’ve lost but this one was the other way around and we’ve won. It’s football and we love it because it’s so unpredictable.
“The lads can take a lot of heart from the game because they stuck together, which I asked them to, and they had a lot of belief in what we were trying to do. Defensively, they blocked shots and crosses into the box, they got the first contacts. We were good in those moments.”
On taking chances:
“We speak a lot about getting into areas where we need to be more clinical. Football is always about moments, whatever you way you play football. We want our teams to be competitive first and foremost but those moments are key in both boxes. The moments were for us in this one.
“You always want to continue with your game plan to be more aggressive in your pressing but sometimes, without really wanting it, you’ll sit off because you want to protect the lead. Sometimes the game flows like that and you have to change things but we tried to stick to the gameplan and fortunately got the second goal.”
On seeing the game out:
“I wouldn’t say it felt comfortable but we felt assured in what we were doing against the threats they were posing in the late stages of the game.
“It was good to get a clean sheet.”
On using the result as a springboard:
“There’s 18 games left and we want to be doing something this season. We want to be pushing up as high as we can. We know it’s going to be difficult because every game is competitive in professional football, especially in League Two. We know the demands, we try to prepare the players as best we can and we move onto the next game.
“We focus on the next game. We reflect on this one. It’s the same process that we will prepare for the next game.”
On his time in charge so far:
“I’ve been really pleased with how the ideas we’re trying to coach the players have been taken on board. I think they’re buying into all those moments. I’ve realised how demanding and challenging every game is - both physically and mentally we need to be prepared for that and we need to be optimum to give ourselves a chance.
“We need to make sure the moments are in our favour the whole time. That’s the key for me. We can play some good football, we can defend but it needs to be consistent.”