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Phil Parkinson looked back on Wanderers’ perfect start to life in League One and admitted: “I couldn’t be happier.”
Delighted by a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Sheffield United, the new boss praised his new-look side, which boasted four players making their debuts.
Mark Howard, Chris Taylor, Mark Beevers and Lewis Buxton all made their first starts, with Jamie Proctor also coming off the bench in the second half.
The more familiar face of Jay Spearing earned three points with a sublime volley – although Wanderers were left holding on with 10 men for the last 20 minutes after skipper Darren Pratley left the field on a stretcher with all substitutions made.
Parkinson paid tribute to his players’ resilience to see out a win against the favourites for the League One title.
“We wanted to make a statement in front of our fans and the level of commitment was exactly right,” Parkinson enthused. “There are things that can get better, we know that, but the desire was firmly in place and that’s what I wanted.
“When you are in the dressing room, look around and see the lads out on their feet you know they have done their job for you.
“Lewis (Buxton) hadn’t trained for 10 days but when I asked if he was OK to play he said ‘definitely’ – so that was a tough 90 minutes for him but he was really solid.
“It’s the same with big Wheats (David Wheater) who has missed some training and been a little bit behind the rest but he was a colossus.
“Jamie Proctor isn’t quite right, Zach Clough is still out injured, we are still a few players short in the attacking department but it’s about winning, you need to find a way of working as a team and we did that.
“One nil is a good indicator, for me, because when you are a goal up you have to show certain characteristics and they were there in abundance.”
Wanderers will announce news of Pratley’s condition today after the midfielder was taken to hospital for X-rays.
Concern in the dressing room after the final whistle was that the 31-year-old may have broken his leg but Parkinson remained hopeful there would be a better prognosis.
“We’re hoping it is not too bad,” he said. “Prats said he heard a crack but he’d ran himself into the ground for the team. He was up against little John Fleck who can really dictate play if you let him and I thought Prats over-powered him at times. Fingers crossed he’s alright.”
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Delighted by a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Sheffield United, the new boss praised his new-look side, which boasted four players making their debuts.
Mark Howard, Chris Taylor, Mark Beevers and Lewis Buxton all made their first starts, with Jamie Proctor also coming off the bench in the second half.
The more familiar face of Jay Spearing earned three points with a sublime volley – although Wanderers were left holding on with 10 men for the last 20 minutes after skipper Darren Pratley left the field on a stretcher with all substitutions made.
Parkinson paid tribute to his players’ resilience to see out a win against the favourites for the League One title.
“We wanted to make a statement in front of our fans and the level of commitment was exactly right,” Parkinson enthused. “There are things that can get better, we know that, but the desire was firmly in place and that’s what I wanted.
“When you are in the dressing room, look around and see the lads out on their feet you know they have done their job for you.
“Lewis (Buxton) hadn’t trained for 10 days but when I asked if he was OK to play he said ‘definitely’ – so that was a tough 90 minutes for him but he was really solid.
“It’s the same with big Wheats (David Wheater) who has missed some training and been a little bit behind the rest but he was a colossus.
“Jamie Proctor isn’t quite right, Zach Clough is still out injured, we are still a few players short in the attacking department but it’s about winning, you need to find a way of working as a team and we did that.
“One nil is a good indicator, for me, because when you are a goal up you have to show certain characteristics and they were there in abundance.”
Wanderers will announce news of Pratley’s condition today after the midfielder was taken to hospital for X-rays.
Concern in the dressing room after the final whistle was that the 31-year-old may have broken his leg but Parkinson remained hopeful there would be a better prognosis.
“We’re hoping it is not too bad,” he said. “Prats said he heard a crack but he’d ran himself into the ground for the team. He was up against little John Fleck who can really dictate play if you let him and I thought Prats over-powered him at times. Fingers crossed he’s alright.”
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