How important were those three points today?
TE: Oh, massive. Best performance of the week, I think the boys have been absolutely outstanding today.
Why do you think that was the best performance?
TE: The consistency. I think if you’re clearly on top in the first half, then we didn’t really finish our attacks to put it in the back of the net.
You just have one loose ball and have to defend one corner, go down 1-0, and you don’t really know why. It’s just that’s the way games go sometimes.
Then to have that belief and just that deep belief to keep going and being sure that the game then falls onto you, I think the boys were excellent.
Do the players overcome every challenge that comes their way?
TE: Yeah, there are so many different ways. That’s why sometimes, before a game, you don’t know how the game unfolds. Every game has its own story.
They are so different at times. I think there’s a good chance that with the way we set up in the first half, the game just goes clearly in our direction.
But sometimes it just doesn’t, and then to find a way to get back into the game I think was very good.
Players came out early for the second half, was the message simple?
TE: Yeah, there was not too much to say. It was the same thing against Leicester; sometimes you just need to show that you’re ready.
There were a lot of crosses in the first half. Was that deliberate?
TE: No, we didn’t really know how they set up with their full-backs and if they changed sides, but I think Leo [Scienza] had so many moments.
They just backed off with him, so you carry the ball, and you gain ground, gain ground, and then you come into those crossing positions.
I think the only thing that was missing was how we occupied the far post. I think more than enough balls were coming in.
When the goalkeeper went down, it gave us a chance to adjust that a little bit. I think it was a lot better towards the end of the first half.
Then in the second half, you know that you need to keep pushing and that first goal then opens up the game.
Can you talk about the quality of Scienza’s strike for the goal?
TE: Well, he did want to do the same thing in the first half, and then he just lost the ball for a moment.
If you look at the goal against QPR that he scores, I think that’s something on the other side that we work at quite a lot.
Sometimes you can use a defender as a reference to bend the ball around, and I think he does that very well.
Harwood-Bellis now has six goals this season. How important?
TE: It’s very good, isn’t it?
Is Azaz alright after he seemed to limp off today?
TE: Yeah, I assume so. At this part of the season you always have some minor bits. I think he’s carried a couple of minor bits over the last weeks.
You won’t find many players more professional in the way they live, prepare for games, use every minute of their time for recovery and preparation.
He came back after the international break and already watched the clips that we showed about Arsenal. It’s so professional in everything he does.
Let’s assess over the next days, but it didn’t seem anything too major.
Is his durability down to that professionalism you describe?
TE: Yeah, I think so. In the end, it comes down to the performance, so you can prepare yourself as much as you want to, in the end you need to perform.
He’s been very consistent, has a drive that is so clear and so focused to work for the team and then contribute on the offensive side. A big player for us.
You get a lot of goal contributions from defenders. How pleasing?
TE: Well, we’ve had quite a few free-kicks from that position throughout the year, and Ryan [Manning] was very consistent on that delivery.
For Taylor to just trust the ball to arrive is so important when you get into the box. Don’t try to anticipate or read, but just trust the ball to arrive.
The delivery was spot-on and an excellent header.
Has Taylor’s development off the pitch helped his performances?
TE: Yeah, it’s very nice to see him growing, because I think he’s only getting better week by week.
I think he’s a completely different player from what he was at the beginning of the season, and we’ll do everything to support him to continue on that.
How did he handle their physical striker today?
TE: For me, he’s one of the best strikers in the league. I’ve trained Carlton [Morris] at Barnsley a couple of years back, so I know him quite well.
I think he was outstanding even in the Premier League. You just see how much difficulty he can cause at the defensive line.
That’s as good as it gets in the Championship, and that’s what we need to be ready for. Especially in the second half, we controlled him a lot better.
Can you still go up automatically this season?
TE: I think that’s a question for supporters and media. I know that this is coming up, but for me, no matter what I answer, it doesn’t make a difference.
We need to keep our heads down. To keep working. It’s a big game coming up on Tuesday. Then we’ll see where we stand at the beginning of May.
If you win on Tuesday, you could go fourth. Does that give confidence?
TE: I don’t know how much it helps us to look too much ahead. I think it’s only a distraction if you look too much on where you’re going to be.
It’s only two days before we go play the next game, and you need to back it up again and again. We make sure that we recover properly tomorrow.
The boys will have a day off and I’ll make sure that I prepare well for Blackburn, and then we go again to try and win another game
That’s 17 games unbeaten. Have you had a run like this before?
TE: 17 is very long. If I were to tell you any references I had as a player, you probably would laugh because that’s way the below level we are now.
I think you always have some good spells. I think that we’ve been on quite a long one with Barnsley, without knowing really how many games that was.
It was in the season that we went to the Championship play-offs. We also had a very long one in Serie A, but I think not close to 17.
Do you feel proud of what you and the players have achieved?
TE: I don’t know, I think that we haven’t achieved anything yet. As always, along the journey, sometimes you get a round of applause.
There’s always a risk that you get carried away if you look at the praise too much. For us, I think humility is always a very good companion along the way.
You don’t seem like a team that gets carried away?
TE: Oh, we are not getting carried away.