Mogga has earned his evening Jaffa cakes today thanks to an amazing 3-0 win at Deepdale that secured our place in the Championship playoffs in our first year back in the league. Here’s what the gaffer had to say on the match and upcoming weeks.
HAPPY
“Listen I’m happy, happy for the players really, the journey they’ve been on has been a bit of a roller coaster. We finished the season pretty strong, probably too many draws but the wins have been huge for us, still probably better on the road than at home unfortunately for the forty-odd thousand who watch us at home but its still amazing for these people who travel and spend their hard earned money to watch us that we’ve been winning on the road pretty consistently.”
DELIGHTED AND EXCITED
“Delighted for everybody, delighted for the club, nothing achieved yet of course. Let's hope that last years experience in the playoffs can help the team benefit but we do know that Luton Town are a team of warriors, big physical team who give everything in every game and we have got our hands full in two matches, we obviously look like we’ve picked up a couple of injuries today as well. We are looking forward to it immensely we all believe that if we play at our maximum we can beat anybody in this league and I’m sure Luton will think it’s a tough game on paper for them. Hopefully it will be an epic two matches and we’ll see who comes out on top.”
CONTROL
“I was a bit unhappy first half, it was almost like a basketball match, it could have been three all at half time to be honest. We needed more control and we got control second half, we scored an amazing goal (Thanks Amad!) and then I thought we controlled it fully from that moment, got the second, got the third and we were never really in danger, showed what we are about really as a football team.”
GOALS IN THE AWAY END
“Really pleased with them, great for the supporters to score the goals in the supporters end as well and to make that connection the team and the fans is really really important at any football club and hopefully as they do the supporters really appreciate this young athletic talented team and we have to keep it going for hopefully three more games.”
SIMILAR AGE GROUP THROUGHOUT SQUAD
“I think there's a very similar age group to them all, I don't know but only three over the age of 22 again in that team today, young lads training the young lads, having the same banter, liking the same music, ding the same things, have the same trainers, have the same haircuts.”
BEEN THERE BEFORE AS A PLAYER
“They’re very similar to when I was playing in the middle eighties to be honest, Middlesbrough, went through the leagues back to back with a team of kids really, myself and Stuart Ripley, Colin Cooper, Gary Parkinson, Gary Pallister, a team of young boys, Gary Hamilton, and we managed to do it and then forged friendships for life and I keep saying to this group ‘these teammates you’ve got today could be your friends in 40 years time, you could still be going for a coffee with them and just reminiscing, like fifty years ago, the team of 73 for Sunderland, wouldn’t it be amazing to get to Wembley and have an appearance on the 50 year anniversary.”
TWO MASSIVE GAMES
”We’ve got two massive games coming up against Luton Town and we’ll be doing our best, our supporters know that, Luton I’m not sure how many tickets we’ll get for the away game, we could probably fill the whole ground ourselves couldn't we and yet we’ll be doing our best for the football club and for the supporters of this team who have had a tough few years and deserve to see a team that's giving everything they've got.”
MANTRA
“I’m always proud of them, they work hard, I’ve always had a mantra in my coaching career to think you’re giving maximum then give another ten percent’. You never get to maximum as a football and I learnt that as a young boy doing doggies on the pitch, cone back to the cone, back to the cone, back to the cone and the coach would say ‘right last one’ you felt you couldn't move and he’d say last one’ and you sprinted the fastest one you’ve ever did and that's the sort of moments where I know that you think you’re running hard, you’re gasping for air, you can find more and I think it’s something that I hopefully will put into these lads for the rest of their careers that you have to find your maximum and then a little bit more if you’re going to win consistently.”
