September Round-Up with new Assistant Manager Alex Dyer
View attachment 396189
A mixed month for the Rovers in September. A win, a draw and a lose were recorded from the three games that were played this month with 4 goals scored and 3 conceded. Jordan Rhodes got his third goal of the season in the league and loan signing Steven Naismith got off and running with a double along with Tom Cairney first of the season.
I caught up with the newly appointed Assistant Manager, Alex Dyer to find out his thoughts on an up and down month.
Simon -
Hello Alex, how are you settling in at Ewood Park?
Alex - Hi Simon. Its been fantastic so far. Working with Gianfranco is a dream come true for me and all the lads seem really excited about having the Gaffer here.
Simon -
So the first game for us in September was away to the Boleyn Ground to face West Ham in what already could have been construed as being a bit of a six pointer as both sides were near the foot of the table.
Alex - Far too early to call it a six pointer Simon but it was important for us to get something from the match after quite a poor start to the season. Unfortunately it was West Ham who started the better and in 18 minutes took the lead from a shot by their captain, Kevin Nolan. This woke us up and 5 minutes later we were back on level terms when Jordan Rhodes headed home a great ball from Tom Cairney. From then on it was a very evenly matched game and none of us could get another goal. So a good away point picked up, I believe.
Simon -
38 year old Alessandro Nesta had a man of the match performance against West Ham, keeping big Andy Carroll very quiet.
Alex - I thought that Alessandro was simply magnificent against the Hammers. A study in the art of defending from the experienced Italian. We just sat the rest of the squad down on the Monday and watched the video and told the youngsters that that was the target that they have to attain.
Simon -
Next up was a hard match against the shock league leaders, Southampton. How did you all prepare for this one?
Alex - We had a great weeks preparation for this game. The gaffer had us working the players hard, trying to get every ounce of their being focused on getting a result there. We truely thought that we had a great chance of causing an upset there.
Simon -
And it showed, a great performance from everyone.
Alex - Yeah it was and we were so unfortunate to not get the result that our performance merited. We absolutely pounded them. The players were so unlucky with us smashing the woodwork three times during the match. They stole that result, so they did. One shot on target the entire game and they go away with the three points and a one-nil victory. Just one of those days, is what we told the lads after it. We could easily have rattled in 4 or 5 goals any other day but it was just not to be for us.
Simon -
That result could have destroyed the morale in the camp.
Alex - Yeah it could have but it galvanised the boys. They were mad that it ended the way it did and they just could wait until the next game to try and fix that. The training sessions all week were brilliant, with everyone giving 100%.
Simon -
So onto the final game this month and another home tie against fellow strugglers Hull.
Alex - To be honest with you, Hull didn't stand a chance of getting a result that day. We were just too fired up, too focused for us not to get the victory that fate stole from us last week. Loanee Steven Naismith was untouchable in a man of the match performance that he topped with his first and second goals of the season. The first from a penalty kick after Jordan Rhodes was tripped in the box. His second a fine solo effort from just inside our own half. It was great to see our talented midfielder Tom Cairney getting on the score sheet as well in the second half with a well taken shot after some great passing build up play involving most of the team. Only downside in the match was not being able to keep a clean sheet when Otavio scored for Hull with 4 minutes left in the game.
Simon -
Well that sums up September, what are you thoughts on the forthcoming month.
Alex - Its a tough one for us with two away matches against Newcastle and Man City followed by welcoming Liverpool to Ewood Park. But we will set up the squad to play the best they can and hopefully we can a result or two.
Simon -
Thanks Alex and all the best