Tranmere Rovers Reaction - Cherries Camp

Last updated : 25 March 2007 By Bournemouth Co-Ordinator
After the match, manager Kevin Bond was quoted on BBC Radio Solent as saying: "We're three points nearer to where we need to be and it was a good performance as well. I thought we did well throughout and always looked likely to score. You're never comfortable, they had a couple of free kicks late on where you think if they tuck it away then we were going to be in for a nasty few minutes but in fairness, I thought we did well overall. It's difficult because I had to leave Warren Cummings out because since he has been back from his operations, we haven't had a better player than him. But to be fair to Stephen Purches, who has not always played regularly of late when he used to doing that, he played left back last week and was fantastic so I couldn't leave him out. Warren to be fair totally understands that so if it is not broke, don't fix it and we kept the same side and I hope I can continue to keep the same side".

Keeper Neil Moss was quoted on BBC Radio Solent afterwards as saying: "We knew that it was a must win game. We have got to take advantage of our home games. We knew all the other teams around us had difficult games to play, As it stands I think that we were the only team in the bottom six that actually won today so it was absolutely brilliant and makes it even more worthwhile when you come in and hear the other results have gone our way. If the manager can leave a player of Warren's capabilities on the bench it shows you what a good squad we have. The manager has been fair and square, if players come in and do well then it doesn't matter who your are, you are not guaranteed your place back in the side. It just shows the strength we have got at the moment. You look at the strength of our bench and we have got great cover in nearly every position".

David McGoldrick was quoted on BBC Radio Solent as saying: "The main thing is the three points but it is good to get on the scoresheet as well. The gaffer likes me playing off the big man and the ball has been knocked up to him and I just gambled. I managed to get myself there and took a touch and placed it into the corner, a great feeling. I feel I'm a match for anyone out there in this League, he's a good player but he's unlucky to get sent off, I don't know what he got booked for the first time, the second was obviously a booking".

Steve Fletcher, speaking about McGoldrick, was quoted on Solent as saying: "I keep him on his toes, you can't teach him nothing with the ball, he is very skilful, very quick, everything I'm not! But just the basic things like getting in front of defenders and when the ball goes dead you've got to react, that's something you just learn with the amount of games you play. Dave can take that on board and he's got every chance to go to have a much higher level. We've been working on hitting me with diagonal balls in the last third, if the ball is up in the air then probably nine times out of ten, I'm going to win it but it is only worth doing if someone gambles off it. Dave come in front of a defender, chested it forward off my flickdown and buried it into the back of the net. That gives me as much satisfaction as probably what it does for Dave scoring. That's what I'm all about really and that's what Dave is all about and it's nice when the strikers do combine".

Fletch went on to say about results and our relegation rivals: "It does help when the results go for you as well. That is what you want. The last few weeks apart from maybe one, every time we've won, the opposition have won and when we've lost, they've lost and we seem to take two steps forward and three back. Thankfully we've got that six-point gap that we wanted but it doesn't mean it is done and dusted by no means. We want to get off this horrible run of two wins; two loses for the last fourteen games. To break it would be nice. If we could pull a couple of results out of the fire now and get mathematically safe and it's great big push to do it. Three or four weeks ago I felt it was going to go down to the wire and we could be struggling. But we have pulled something out of the bag in the last few games. What we do look at is the teams that we can catch. The teams above us before the game today were Gillingham and Orient. Teams with three or four points in front and you think a couple of games and we could bring them into it because there are nine or ten teams who are not safe. Maybe they have relaxed too much in the last couple of weeks and have been dragged into it, the prime example is Bradford who were sitting decent in the division four or five weeks ago and now they are in the bottom few".