Crawley Town beat Rotherham United at the Broadfield Stadium to jump out of the League One relegation zone. Here is Rob Elliot's fill post-match press conference
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00:00Rob, one nil against Rotherham today, three points, you must be delighted, how do you
00:05assess that performance?
00:06Yeah, absolutely delighted and so proud of the lads, like incredibly proud of this group.
00:10Had two keepers on the bench today who were down to bare bones through dead legs and suspensions
00:15and whatever else it might be, so yeah, it was just a game of two halves because of the
00:21conditions. Conditions were horrendous, but what I thought, we didn't get caught into
00:25trying to use the wind and playing too direct, we moved the ball so well, some of our play
00:31and our patterns were brilliant. I asked the lads after Bristol Rovers and the previous
00:35performances, can we get more crossings in, can we get to our crossing zones, can we keep
00:38the width and we did that really well and the goal comes from a fantastic ball in and
00:40a fantastic finish from Swanee, so it's good to see the fruition of everything we try and
00:45work on. Still not perfect, but the lads have taken it and they're trying and we'll get
00:49better and better as we go. And then second half, you always knew, they're direct anyway,
00:54with the wind with them and obviously with them struggling at the moment, it's going
00:58to be even more direct with the Hübel etc. coming off the bench. So, yeah, the way we
01:02weathered the storm, Jojo made a couple of brilliant saves, Charlie Barker was outstanding,
01:07Joey McKenna has gone about his business, but he's been absolutely incredible, Toby
01:10Malarkey at the end, I won't name all of them, I will name all of them, but they're all incredible,
01:14the subs that come on. So, yeah, just really pleased, showed what we can be in terms of
01:19possession and the way we play first half and where we're trying to get to, it's not
01:22perfect, but we're getting there. And then probably a continuation from Bristol Rovers
01:26and then second half was just all fight, it was about fight, it was about desire,
01:29it was about determination, about dealing with the conditions, dealing with the balls
01:32in the box and, you know, Max Hannes and Jeremy Kelly in the middle there, Pan Tamaru, his
01:36running is just incredible and some of his touches and, yeah, just exceptional and then,
01:41yeah, I thought Swanee deserved the goal, I thought he played really well, I thought
01:45he was excellent. So, no, yeah, I don't want to get too carried away always saying not
01:49too high, not too low, but you've got to give the lads praise, not just for today,
01:52but that was a, that was a, that result was because of the last four or five games, you
01:56know, I think that's six, unbeaten, one in six or something like that and that's what
02:00happens, you can't just go from A to Z, you've got to go through the stages and the lads
02:04have done that really well. Yeah, and as you said, I think it's three clean sheets in the
02:08last four as well in the league. I mean, obviously, you haven't got the likes of Dion Conroy,
02:13Josh Flint, who, players that some people might think would be first choice, but as
02:17you've already mentioned, Toby, Joy and Charlie have been a magnuson, haven't they?
02:21Yeah, and, you know, they're getting their opportunities for whatever reason and then
02:24they're taking it and they're three clean sheets in four, you can see one open goal
02:28in four games, one goal from open play in four games, the set pieces we're trying to
02:32get better at, you know, not perfect, we're getting better at and yeah, just really proud
02:36of them and taking pride in, you know, being solid, being a good in possession team, but
02:41out of possession also take pride in that, you know, we don't want to be one dimensional,
02:45we want to try and have every facet of the game that we can control and be as good as
02:50we can be at each of them because we're not only trying to survive and develop as a club,
02:53we're trying to develop these players and help the players who are young and experienced
02:56to get better and play at the highest level they can and, you know, pushing the club forward
03:00every single day.
03:01Yeah, and we obviously mentioned bare bones there, we saw Ronan Darcy, Jeremy Kelly and
03:06Will Swanson playing different positions that we haven't seen them play this season so far,
03:10just shows the adaptability of the players you've got, isn't it?
03:14Yeah, exactly, you know, Darcy, he's very good from the outside in the wing, he's good
03:18in 1v1s and with Rushy, you know, Rushy had a bit of an issue this week with his hammy
03:22so we didn't want to risk him, but then, yeah, putting Swanee in, Tolly deserved his chance
03:26as well and I thought he did excellent in the first 60 minutes or so, I thought he was,
03:30you know, it's a big step up for him and he scored goals and he deserves the opportunity
03:34and I thought Swanee, playing in the 10, I think he's someone that could be a 10 eventually,
03:38he can jump into the 9 because his energy and his timing of runs are brilliant and it
03:42comes with the goal, you know, such good timing of arrival.
03:44Jeremy Kelly, you know, technically one of the best players I've ever worked with at
03:48any level, genuinely incredible, so much game understanding, I think the way he controlled
03:53the game, his defensive actions and some of his passing and his decision making was fantastic
03:59and yeah, and then as always, Max Anderson quietly goes about his business and it's been
04:04exceptional since I've come in and Pan Kamara just gone to show why, you know, despite all
04:08the unfortunate injuries he's had, why he's been at the levels he has and I think Pan's
04:12getting back to where we want him to be, so yeah, again, I'm just not going for all
04:15the lads again, but just they're all, why I said I'm so proud of them and what I'm
04:20pleased with is they're doing what we're asking, it's not perfect, it's not clean
04:24all the time, but we're getting there and I think we're starting to see the pictures
04:26that we want to get to.
04:27Yeah, and the results have mostly gone your way today, you're out of the relegation zone,
04:31how much of a boost is that, just seeing that in the table?
04:34I think so, yeah, I haven't checked myself yet, but yeah, no, it is because the players
04:38deserve that, you know, when you're in a fight and you obviously have six games or five,
04:41six games without winning and then you obviously then start turning it around and you don't
04:45maybe, you know, if we wanted to win again, we obviously could have won Bristol Rovers,
04:49but Huddersfield was a bit of a different game there and they're excellent to be fair
04:52and again, we showed a different side to us to get through the point, but yeah, it's
04:55good for the players to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel and there's
04:58little reward for them in a 10-day break till the Chorlton game, where hopefully we'll
05:03stay there and we can push on from there, but it doesn't mean that we cracked it, doesn't
05:07mean we're not going to pop back into the bottom four, hopefully we don't and we'll
05:10work on that, but it just shows if the lads work hard, stick to the messages and do the
05:15work that we're asking for each other especially, then they'll be successful.
05:18Yeah, you've got the FA Cup to look forward to now, a bit of a long week's break, how
05:22important is that break and how important is the FA Cup and how much can that give to
05:26the club?
05:27Well, it's massive, isn't it? Like, you know, we are one of the smaller clubs, so,
05:30you know, the reward of getting through the second round, maybe getting a Premier League
05:34club, home, away, whatever it might be, it's good and it's a good chance to showcase us.
05:38Lincoln, probably the best team we've played this year, if I'm being honest, Lincoln and
05:40Huddersfield, since I've been in charge, so we know it's going to be a tough game,
05:43their squad depth is incredible, they've got some really good players, so we know that's
05:46going to be a really tough game, we're down to the bare bones as it is, we've got the
05:49Chorlton game on the Tuesday, so we're going to have to try and manage players, we're
05:52going to have to try and win the game with an eye on Tuesday, so we make sure we get
05:58the balance right like we did against Maidenhead, but let's just worry about that Monday,
06:03Tuesday, we'll see how the lads are.
06:06Darz is just the kick, to be honest with you, he's just got to study down his Achilles,
06:09so he should be fine, and Addy had a bit of a whack in a dead calf, Addy was excellent
06:14as well coming in for Harry Forster, so yeah, we'll just worry about that Monday, Tuesday.
06:20Yeah, last one from me, Eddie coming back into the squad, does that mean you give a
06:24chance for Jasper to go out on loan again now?
06:26Yeah, we really hope so, obviously Eddie's just only trained with us one or two days,
06:30we want to make sure he's absolutely fine, such a brilliant character, Adam O'Gateshead
06:33obviously, he's infectious and he's lit it up for the place already in two or three
06:37days, and obviously the competition in the goalkeepers is brilliant, Jojo's exceptional
06:41today, the save in the first half and the save in the second half is top class, and
06:45I think what Jojo, Jojo's really starting to understand the pictures that we're asking
06:48from him, he's working really hard with Chris Dixon, who to be honest with you is one of
06:51the best goalie coaches I've seen and worked with, and again, people do work behind the
06:55scenes at this club that doesn't always get the credit, and Chris is definitely one of
06:58them, so no, really pleased with that, clean sheets, it shows that we need everyone, it
07:04was Connell, it was Jojo, we need all these lads to keep us clean sheets and working as
07:09units and departments and as a team is how we're going to get there.
07:14Obviously you've been managing for not too long now, have you found a journey so far,
07:19from Gatehead to now?
07:21Yeah, it's not something I had any intention to go into, I was a technical director and
07:24obviously we might leave in it the continuality that we wanted to keep at Gateshead, but yeah,
07:29that was a bit of a buzz today and then the step up to League One, playing against teams
07:33that are tough, tactically, technically trying to understand how we break them down, how
07:37we work, it takes longer to break teams down because they're more professional etc, playing
07:42against better players, but no, I'm enjoying it and I can honestly say the second half
07:47at Bristol and the first half today I genuinely enjoyed myself, I genuinely enjoyed myself
07:52because I could see the lads showcasing themselves but in the way we've asked them to and obviously
07:57yeah, the second half is just in the conditions, it's horrendous and I think that showed a
08:01different side to this team and I'm more proud about how we got through the second
08:05half and still causing problems because of the directness and the conditions etc.
08:09So no, it's tough, it's different, I'm very open to the fact that I'm inexperienced
08:14in terms of managerial stuff, I just have to rely on my career and the experience I
08:18had at all the different levels to try and solidify my beliefs and make sure that I don't
08:23come away from them too far because what brings success is consistency and understanding
08:28strengths and also understanding the strengths of this team and the strengths of this team
08:32is that we're a fantastic in possession team who are now becoming good out of possession
08:36and we need to make sure we maintain both of those.
08:38And obviously if you could manage any team in the world, who would it be?
08:42That's a good question, do you know what, I genuinely don't even think like that, I'm
08:45not just saying it, I genuinely don't because I genuinely enjoy the journey here, this isn't
08:50a managerial job, it's a project with the club and everything we're doing and I'm
08:55enjoying the challenge, it's stressful don't get me wrong, it's been six, seven weeks now
08:58so it's really stressful but it's an enjoyable stressful, I'm enjoying working with people
09:03and I'm enjoying the ups and the downs because I've got to learn, people got to learn about
09:08me, I've got to learn about other people, I've got to learn about players, staff and
09:10everything and all I can say is I'm just thankful to everyone at the club from the
09:13very top to the bottom in bringing us here but also in trusting what we're trying to
09:17do and having that patience to get us to that point.
09:20Cheers.