Town Head Coach Luke Williams sat down with the local media to assess his side’s performance in the wake of their hard-fought 1-0 victory against Bradford City at SN1 earlier today…
ON THE RESULT AND PERFORMANCE:
“There are plenty of things that pleased me, including the energy and the intensity.
“We were pressing the opposition higher up the pitch which is much more preferable and we created plenty of chances.
“If you can win games in this division comfortably then you should be able to do that frequently as well.
“When we have won games and we have been very comfortable, we should be able to produce that on a much more regular basis.
“It is now a big question for the squad.
“I was hoping that when the game slowed down, which of course it is going to at some point, we would be the team that had imposed ourselves the most and I think it is fair to say that was the case.
“If anyone feels like they can play against this team and not come under pressure, they are wrong because they are an excellent side and they are at the top of the division for a reason.
“The manager has got them organised, they play to their strengths and you know you are going to come under pressure. If you do, you need to stand up to it and then you need to have an answer.
“We had both today. We could stand up to the physical threat and we had a threat for them to think about as well – that was pleasing.”
ON ANTON RODGERS’ STUNNING FREE-KICK:
“Those that were here at the game against Leyton Orient a couple of seasons ago that saw Anton lift the ball up himself and volley it would agree that it is something you only see in the Premier League.
“But today’s effort was as good as anything. He hits it from a long way and he hits it with more accuracy than power, which is more difficult, and he is a very talented boy for sure.
“You need those moments of quality and he produced that.
“It is those moments of quality you need and let’s not forget those moments of brilliance from Lawrence Vigouroux again.”
ON TOM SMITH FILLING IN AT LEFT-BACK:
“He may have given a problem to everybody because his performance was exceptional.
“He came in and played on the wrong side to where he is a natural and he didn’t put a foot wrong, even managing to make the right runs forward at the right time and be a threat at the other end of the pitch.
“I think it was outstanding for somebody that wasn’t playing in their natural position and for somebody with a limited experience out on the pitch, but it is credit to him.
“Anyone who knows Tom knows he is an exceptional professional and that is proof today.”
ON JAMES BROPHY’S EARLY WITHDRAWAL:
“Thankfully his breathing wasn’t the issue, it was just an under-par performance by his standards.
“He’s been away from the pitch for a while and it takes time to get back into a rhythm.
“Sometimes you can be lucky and come in and the first few touches are very good, you feel confident and everything falls into place but being up against a very strong opposition flustered him a little bit and it was best to take him off.
“Ellis (Iandolo) is a very good footballer as well so it was no problem.”
ON BRANDON ORMONDE-OTTEWILL’S INJURY:
“It seems like someone landed on him heavily and we’re hoping that it is only superficial and something to the outside of the ankle, not so much to the ligaments and the joints.
“But we’ll have to wait 48 hours as usual.”
ON NATHAN DELFOUNESO:
“The two chances he’s had in the last two games would be two fantastic defending headers to clear it away from a corner, but at the other end you need to find the back of the net.
“The boy is extremely talented and you can talk about some of the best strikers in football over the years have gone long spells without scoring, it is just something that happens.
“The more you think about it the more you stress about it the harder it seems to get, and the smaller the goal seems to look, the bigger the keeper looks and then all of a sudden overnight it can change because you hit the back of the net and everything you hit seems to find its way in.
“Nicky Ajose went something like six, seven, eight games without scoring, hardly had a chance to score and then didn’t seem to be able to miss after that.
“It will happen for Nathan Delfouneso for sure because he’s talented and he wants to push himself all the time.”
ON GOING INTO A BREAK WITH THREE POINTS:
“You’ve got a break coming up so win – that’s the only way to feel good. There have been times where I’ve been here and the performances have been good, even after a loss, that we knew we would be okay because we’re playing such incredible football.
“But at the moment we are trying to find our feet again and we are trying to build ourselves up so the performances for now are secondary to the result.
“We need the points and then the performances will pick up as well.
“The players need to be worked extremely hard and intensely and then given time to recover and time for information to sink in.
“I’m pretty sure that’s what will happen.”
