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Interviews

Post Morecambe | Steve Cotterill

11 March 2023

Interviews

Post Morecambe | Steve Cotterill

11 March 2023

Manager Steve Cotterill chatted to the media following our 3-1 victory over Morecambe.

In what was a thoroughly deserved win, Luke Leahy opened the scoring from the penalty spot - with the strike his 11th of the season.

Rob Street went on to double our advantage before the Shrimps pulled a goal back just before half-time through Dan Crowley.

Chey Dunkley then secured the points with his sixth goal of the campaign in the second-half.

The result means we have now won our last five games at Montgomery Waters Meadow.

Speaking post-match, Steve discussed his team's performance and their excellent form - both home and away.

And the boss also gave a brief fitness update on Christian Saydee and Tom Bayliss - with Christian missing the game with a hamstring injury while Tom came off with an ankle problem.

ON THE RESULT AND PERFORMANCE: 

"We said leading into it this is going to be a tricky game. They are not bad – they have got some good players in the midfield. We know that. 

"They put in some big, strong, boys at the back today. And they have always got Cole Stockton up front who can nick a goal. 

"I actually think Derek (Adams) has done a really good job there. They are certainly better than they were last year. 

"They are a tough team to play against. They play a good bit of football, we have watched them quite a few times this season. 

"I think they have got good lads. They are all-in. And we knew it was going to be a difficult game today. 

"The danger is, that is knowledge because I have watched them enough. And not everyone who comes to the game today, yourselves (the media) included, you might just look at where they are in the table. 

"And then we become judgemental on that. The players can as well, because the players aren’t going to watch them as much as I watch them. 

"So you always have to make sure you are on your metal against these teams. 

"In the end, we were more than worthy of a three-goal scoreline. 

"I thought their goalkeeper was excellent today. He made some great saves. Chey Dunkley could have scored three today. 

"It was another good game by Chey. I thought Rekeil Pyke and Rob Street - I thought they were a real handful up top. 

"It was a good all-round, solid, team performance at the end of what has been a long, hard, week for the boys. 

"The bonus is that we have got three points at the end of the week. 

"Derby I think that was a fair result – a draw. We could have won it but I felt a draw was a fair result. 

"I don’t think it was a fair result at Peterborough the other night. We could have easily taken a draw from that game and that would have been the minimum we deserved. 

"Looking back on the week with three points today, we are perhaps only a point down on what we deserved. But maybe we will catch that point between now and the end of the season."

ON OUR GOALS: 

"It was a good, controlled penalty from Luke – we were delighted. That gave us a start in the game, then we get the second one with Rob Street. 

"The whole dressing room and the whole stadium will be delighted for Rob Street. 

"He has put in so much effort since he has been here. He has had a little spell where he has been out of the team. And I think that is what happens with young players. 

"I said to Rob a couple of weeks ago, I think he had already played 20-plus games. 

"I said to him ‘between now and the end of the season, you will probably be involved in another five. And if I said to you at the start of the season you are going to come here and be involved in 30 games in League One – a division he hadn’t played in before – I said you’d be delighted with that and your progress.’ 

"And that’s probably where he is aiming. We are really pleased with him on the second goal. 

"We are really disappointed with their goal before half-time.  

"That one really disappointed me because I was speaking to the players on the way back to the halfway line saying we need to keep our concentration. 

"And we didn’t, we lost a little bit of concentration, we lost a couple of second balls that we definitely could have done better on. 

"But that has happened at the end of a long, hard, week. We have done a lot of travelling again and it’s tough on us when we have to do a lot of travelling as well. 

"Today we got three points at the end of it and I think we thoroughly deserved them."

ON CHEY DUNKLEY: 

"He is effective everywhere and has improved as a player I think in the time he’s been here. 

"I don’t want to discredit Chey or anything like that, but I think his feet have tidied up in the time he’s been with us. 

"He had decent feet anyway, but I think some of his passing is much better than it was at the start of the season. 

"And that’s because we do a fair few of those passing drills in training, we use quite a bit of it as a warm-up. 

"It’s almost like Dave Longwell’s baby – and I like that – it gets them going, it gets them going and they enjoy it. 

"And I just think all of those people, look at Matthew Pennington from when he came in to where he is now. 

"He looks as comfortable on the ball as anyone at the back there. That continual work is what Chey Dunkley has done. 

"And I think he has tidied up and become a better footballer. 

"We already knew what he was like as a competitor. And on top of it all he is just a great lad. A great lad. 

"And when you have got a dressing room full of great lads, it’s easy to fit them in."

ON TOM BAYLISS ON CHRISTIAN SAYDEE: 

"Tom is on the Game Ready now (a machine that offers hot and cold compression). We won’t know with that one at this moment in time – like we don’t know about Christian Saydee. 

"We just need to see how they are. We are already quite light. We could do without being any lighter that’s for sure."

ON FIVE HOME WINS IN A ROW: 

"I’m really pleased about that. We’ve got five home games left and we just have to keep going.  

"And away from home, we have done well away from home as well. We have done really, really, well so far this season."

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