Caretaker Head Coach Paul Heckingbottom gave his thoughts to the press after a superb performance from his side saw them secure a comfortable 3-0 win over Bury.
After securing a Wembley final on Thursday the players had a quick turn-around before today’s League One Fixture.
“Obviously the result is everything.” Said Heckingbottom. “We expected it to be tough and Bury to be tough opposition. We stressed that we didn‘t want a hangover from Thursday, and the lads put in a performance. The mind-set and application had to be spot on, and it was.
“It was difficult to start with but then the lads were rewarded for all their hard work. As the game wore on we got stronger and we finished the game really well.
“We had a couple of chances first half which we couldn’t quite take and get the lead, then relax but the subs who came on had a good impact on the game and we got the goals at good times so the lads could enjoy themselves in the last 15 minutes.”
After a seventh successive win for the Reds, Heckingbottom was asked how his side have achieved that.
“It is a good run but the players deserve the credit.” He explained. “They’ve done the work on the training ground, then gone out on to the pitch and performed. It’s the players that have stuck together when things have been difficult.
“Not every game we have dominated possession and chances, we’ve maybe won games we didn’t deserve to win but likewise there has been games where we’ve totally been on top and won easily.
“There’s a lot been crammed into a few days. At the beginning of the week it was all about Thursday, everyone was prepared for that and the performance was excellent. You could see the lads were pumped up and playing on adrenaline, but they handled it. All of them stepped up in what was a big game.
“This week is over now. It’s all been put to bed and the players are preparing now for what will be another tough game next week.”
