It was never a classic but you got the three points, I guess that’s all that matters this afternoon?
Honestly, I really enjoyed the opening exchanges of the game. It was a lovely crisp, December afternoon. Obviously, massive games in the World Cup on and it would have been easier for our fans to have stayed in the house and got ready for the England game but they came out in their numbers.
I thought they were the better side in the first 10-15 minutes, they started well and it was a nice end-to-end game. I actually stood on the sidelines and thought, ‘I’m really enjoying this and I don’t think I should be - it’s a bit too open for my liking’. But then I think once the game settled, I thought we showed the maturity and the confidence that is slowly starting to come through with the group.
Aaron Collins, probably his only shot on goal and he produced for you, his 11th of the season…
Yeah, you’re kind of learning from the top managers, really. Watching Tite leaving Neymar in when he probably wasn’t having his best game, and you just know he’s capable of scoring from anywhere.
Aaron, he really makes it himself with his endeavour, he pressurises the defender into a bit of a rush of his head, in terms of the clearance, and then has the composure and the quality to finish on what is allegedly his weaker foot.
I thought it was a really good finish, he took it early and it was going to be a moment of magic or something from one of the game’s match-winners to settle what was a very tight contest.
And you kept their chances to a minimum after the opening exchanges, defensively you were strong…
You don’t go to Plymouth and win, and beat Barnsley and sit where they sit in the table if you’re not a good side. Darrell is a top coach as everybody in the Gas fraternity knows from the job he’s done here in the past and they’ve improved from last year.
They got up via the play-offs and fell away from the automatics due to our form - I think we’ve dusted them for a third place - Northampton and Port Vale had to reassess and try and pick themselves up and credit to that group of players, they did that and got the job done at Wembley. They haven’t rested on their laurels of that. Everyone talks of play-off hangover and building for the next season but, talking to Daz in there, the lads they’ve done another phenomenal job again and they’ve improved.
The three sides that finished outside of winning the title lasy year - us, Exeter and Port Vale - have made a great start to life in League One. And Forest Green, I know they’ve won today - the champions of the division are the ones playing a bit of catch-up with the rest of us.
We knew it’d be a tough game. Every time we play against Darrell’s teams and Port Vale, we have to compete and be at our best and I thought today we just about shaded that encounter; we probably weren’t going to lose the game but it needed a little bit of quality and a match-winning moment from Aaron to go on and win the game.
Josh Coburn is making such a positive impression but he doesn’t seem to win many free-kicks despite having his shirt ripped off his back. Is there anything you can do about that? It must frustrate him if anything else.
For 20, you’ll struggle to see someone come into League One and handle the game at the level that he does.
I’ve said it many times before I think he’s a real talent, Middlesbrough have got a fantastic prospect on their hands and we’re proud and privileged to have him in our team and he’s grown from the regular rhythm of games. You can see his performances growing week by week and again he was head and shoulders the quality player on the pitch.
There’s a few people who have had good games as well but when you watch him play, it’s just the things he does - his composure, his touch and, when you look at him, he’s very much baby faced. If you saw a snapshot of his head you’d think he’s about 14 but he’s got that frame, but it’s not just that, it’s the way he uses it. Usually, strikers don’t bed down until they’re 25/26 and they understand where their body is in time and space.
Josh is a huge player in our team. But I think he has an enormous future out in front of him if he gets a little bit of luck with injuries, I think he could go on to play for England.
Seriously? You think he’s that good?
Absolutely.
Obviously you played at the very highest level, what makes you think he’s got what it takes?
Just the way he thinks about the game. His touch, for someone of that size, his athleticism, the way he goes looking for work. it’s just me saying this, so I’m not comparing him to this player but there’s a few strikers who you play against over the course of your journey as a player who do things differently.
I always remember playing against Zlatan Ibrahimovic and he actually went looking for physicality with the opposition centre-half and very rarely do you see centre-forwards doing that, unless they’re big ones like Jon Parkin-types of whatever; big bent nosed, physical centre-forward, Duncan Ferguson.
Josh has got that level of looking for physicality but he’s got a real touch of class about him. He’s not a big imposing centre forward but he can do that if he needs to, he’s also got those really classy moments.
And what people forget about him, the thing that sets him apart is, he’s actually really dangerous in the box. We haven’t serviced the box anywhere near enough today but he’s a box predator as well. It’s a rare combination - big and athletic, game and actually he’s got that composure and finishing prowess in the final third.
Honestly, I can’t speak highly enough of him and, like Elliot Anderson and Connor Taylor, he’ll be somebody we look back at and go, ‘it was great to have him in our club’ and, for us, we’re so pleased that Middlesbrough have trusted us with his development.
We speak to them quite regularly and we know they’re really pleased with his development and game time. He’s enjoying his football and, as I say, long may it continue.
We’d love to have him on a five-year deal but we’ve got him for a year and it’s great to be part of his journey, he’s a fantastic lad and a top player.
I do believe, a little bit of luck going his way and dropping in for him, I do think he can go on and you might see him playing in a World Cup for England because, name me some centre-forwards like him? Young English boys at 20, who are scoring virtually one every two games at League One level. Not only that, but also on the physicality.
Everyone is looking for these forwards and, trust me, he’s got all the components if he keeps developing his game to go on and be an elite-level player.
I imagine he’s a dream to coach…
Yeah, great kid. Honestly, great kid. You don’t have to tell him that much, if I’m honest. He kind of self-adjusts as well - and there bits and bobs that he’s learning - but, again, with young players, it’s just letting them play. That’s key, giving them the minutes and giving them exposure and letting them play.
As I say, the highs and lows of a loan, we haven’t suffered with Josh and I think that’s due to the exposure he’s had in Middlesbrough’s first team. He’s dipped in and out; Chris Wilder and the guys who had him before, used him well and developed him well and that’s allowed us to get the best out of this loan for him and we’re really pleased with him and long may it continue.
You mentioned about Aaron, was there a consideration to take him off?
Yeah, I just don’t think he was having his best game. He was just floating around, so you go, ‘do we put John Marquis on? Do we put Luke McCormick or Harvey Saunders on just to change the feel of it?’ He was probably having his quietest game for a long while, although it was similar at Bolton.
And then his athleticism, his attitude and his fitness levels keep him on, plus, we know he’s a legitimate match-winner for the team and you just see those players as, yeah, you could make a change but also, does the player coming on still carry the same match-winning threat?
You only had to see last night, leaving Neymar on. I’m not comparing him to Neymar or Messi but, you know what I mean, those match-winning players. And it’s rewarded us because he’s made the chance for himself and then a great finish with his weaker foot.
Paul Coutts, how did you rate his performance?
I thought he was exceptional. And Lewis Gibson, Jordy Rossiter and Bobby Thomas as well but, honestly, Couttsy, to be out as long as he’s been out, he probably wouldn’t have started the game had Sam Finley and a couple of the other lads been fit, we might have gone a different way. He was thrown in pretty much in the deep end and he never skipped a beat.
That’s the reason he’s the captain and why he’s so important to our group and I honestly believe in the last spell, when we’ve been on a really good run, we’ve missed Couttsy massively because of his composure and quality on the ball. As you saw last night with Modric… again, I’m not comparing players… but you don’t need to be able to run if you’ve got the ball.
Paul Coutts has got better feet than I’ve ever had and I’ve played obviously in the top-flight. He’s got such lovely soft feet. His quality on the ball really rubs off on the rest of his teammates because somebody can give him a pass that maybe isn’t the correct kind of pass but because his first touch and his control is so good, and the way he uses his body, he just settles everyone down in our team.
It’s no coincidence that we passes the ball much better than we did at Bolton and a prime reason is Paul Coutts is in the team. We’ve missed him in recent weeks and thinking him coming back, obviously the lads who missed the game, it’ll give us a real squad depth that’ll help us push on.
We’re three points outside the play-offs and, for us, every point now is going to be vital.
Could you just clear up Sam Finley’s injury?
He’s just felt his calf. Off the back of the Bolton game, him and Trev have trained Tuesday and they both impacted in the same challenge.
So a challenge on each other?
They both went in. Trev’s gone to clear the ball and Sam’s just tried to nip it off the backside of him and they’ve both had a clash in terms of knee to knee.
It looked quite bad and they’re both missing the game. Trev - it’s a couple of months and Sam, with his calf - probably one, if not 10 days, two weeks. But it wasn’t to do with that challenge, it’s the most bizarre thing. They’ve both had a clash and it’s aggravated something else that they’ve had, you'd think it was because of the challenge but it wasn't. It's bizarre.
It’s a blow to lose two starters. Harry Anderson was supposed to be back but he’s had this dreaded lurgy that has gone through the group, he’s wiped out with it. Ryan Loft the same, coming back from illness and he’s got a bit of a muscle spasm that’s not settled down.
Considering we had a couple of players out I’m really pleased with the squad effort. And when those reinforcements it’ll give us that depth.
So Sam’s a calf and Trevor’s a…
I think he’s done his thigh or a groin. He’ll be going for scans. It doesn’t look great, I think it’s more than a grade 2 so we’re probably looking like 8, 10 weeks for Trev so I’m gutted for him; just got back in the team, trying to establish himself in our group again and unfortunately he’s had another injury setback, so gutted for the lad.
100th game in charge, can you sum up how you must now feel part of a family?
I think the relationship is slightly different now from the first 10 games. So, for us, it’s been a tough journey. I think we lost 13 of the opening 18, so something, it was a tricky team to inherit… definitely a tricky club to inherit. But you’ve seen today but it’s a markedly different place.
I didn’t know it was 100 games until I was informed this week. It feels like it’s flown by. Certainly when Andy (Downie, head of media) was getting me to name the first team I picked, I think I’ve Men in Black-ed a lot of that period out of my mind! I did alright but really had to delve into the recesses of it.
It was tough but we knew Bristol Rovers could be a special club but if it was easy it would have been done before by all those people who had a chance before. The reason it hadn’t been done was because it was tricky.
I inherited the idiosyncrasies. We’re building nicely and thankfully a lot of those things cleared out and everyone is pulling together on the same page and when the crowd is sticking with the team and turning up in their droves, home and away for us, it means a lot and we just want to give them a great team and hopefully we can finish the next 100 games, if we get a chance to do that as well as we’ve been in the last 50.
What is the target for this season?
Oh, to get promoted. That’s what we’re here for.
How do you think things are going on that front?
We’ve got a right chance. I think there are teams with big expectations but we’ve just got to keep chipping away. We’ve always believed. We’ve done a lot of things in the early part of the season where we’ve spoken about things people thought would be beyond their wildest dreams and we knew it would be tough, certainly when we started how we did; two wins out of the first 10.
But we never stopped believing and we knew when we got our players back fit, we knew when we bedded the group in, and we know what we’re building here. And with this passionate fanbase with us home and away, we feel we’re a match for anyone in the division.
We’ve got to be as good as we can be on as many occasions between now and the end of the season but we feel we’ve got a right chance.
SIGN UP: To receive our free Rovers newsletter, bringing you the latest from the Mem
