Luke McCullough reflected on Saturday’s close fought match against Newport County which resulted in a narrow loss for Rovers.
Confidence was high coming into the game, with the centre-midfielder being part of a Rovers side who had made a solid start to the season on their return to the football league.
Rovers went into the game in the top half of Sky Bet League Two having only lost one league game and being unbeaten at home, however Newport went on to inflict Rovers first defeat at Prenton Park this season. McCullough believes that, if treated in the correct manner, the result can be seen as a slight blip in what has been a great start to the campaign.
The Northern Irishman said “As long as we learn from it quickly and don’t dwell on it we can get a result in the next game”
“Very disappointing obviously (to lose) and I’m sure the manager, when he was talking, said that we started the game poorly and we didn’t create enough to try and get back into the game”
“We started flat. You have to be bang on it every minute and we got punished early on for it”
“I’m sure more teams will come here and sit back like that so we have to learn and do better next time”.
McCullough admits that it the slowing down of the game by Newport was frustrating but understands that it happens every week in football.
“It’s awful when you’re on the wrong side of it. It’s definitely frustrating when you’re getting it done (time wasting) to you but it’s just football I suppose”
The 24-year-old did still complimented the oppositions defending, saying “They were hard to get in behind of so they have played their game plan well and I’m sure they are delighted”.
On a more personal note, McCullough is relishing his opportunity to play first team football, having joined Rovers on a six month loan from Doncaster.
Regarding how he feels at Prenton Park, he said “I think I’ve only been here for five weeks but it feels like five months, I feel comfortable now and well settled”
“I’ve felt stronger the more I’ve played, It’s been exactly what I needed, just games on the spin”
“I haven’t had a proper run of games in a couple of seasons due to injuries so I think the more games I play the better I’ll feel and the better I’ll get”.
A trip down to Milton Keynes is next for Rovers and McCullough is determined to correct the mistakes that proved costly on Saturday.
“The first thing we will be looking to do next week is to start the game well and then we can try and pick up a result. I know it’s a tough place to go but we’ll bounce back and try and get a result”.
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