Cheltenham Town manager Russell Milton after the 2-0 home win over Tranmere Rovers:
I just gave the lads one word and that was winners and we’re winners. We’ve got a clean sheet and a 2-0 win.
The spirit, effort and determination from start to finish was first class. I thought we started really well in the first 15 minutes, got the goal and it’s important when we’re on top of games that we do that from now on really.
The defending was absolutely first class, Troy (Brown), Matt (Taylor) and Pablo (Mills) shut things out perfectly, Vaughany (Lee Vaughan) Craig (Braham-Barrett) and Trev (Carson) were brilliant. I’m really pleased.
We said play on the front foot get up and at them, get a high tempo, close them down and we did it. For the first 10 minutes we were camped in their half and played some good football too, we got the ball in wide areas, got the crosses in and asked them questions really. We scored from Shaun’s (Harrad) cross-shot and it was pleasing to get us on top of games.
I settled for a goal but it would have been nice to get a couple. We said at half time that the next goal would be important and we had to make sure it was us. In the first 20 minutes it would have been nice to get another if I was being greedy, but I’m happy we just got one.
It was a great header from Troy, he got up and a good cool header, it was like a striker’s header. Where it come from and into the bottom corner, it was cooly done. Troy fully deserved his man of the match award today he was outstanding, closely followed by Matt Taylor at the back. Because we knew they were going to go long to Jordan Hugill and Kayode Odejayi up top and Pablo did a good job screening up top.
Pablo’s not match fit yet so god knows what he’s going to be like when he’s match fit. He broke things up, it’s like having a manager on there see him pointing at people pushing them around, he can see where the game is going. All I had to say is “everything alright? You alright?” and he said “Yeah, yeah all fine.” He was great, settled straight in and they had to change it and put someone on him. He was picking up a lot of ball and they had to change that after 20 minutes. Credit to him for that.
And then Matty Sparrow was class, a class act and a good footballer. He knows the game and can get around the pitch, no-one would think he’s 33. And Shaun up top was a threat all day really when he had it, it would have been nice to get him in front of goal but he’s got to be happy with how he did as well.