Jaap Stam hailed his side’s mentality to fight back from 2-1 behind with 13 minutes to play to beat Brentford 3-2 in a thrilling game at Madejski Stadium.
John Swift’s early goal was cancelled out by Jota and Lasse Vibe goals, but late Danny Williams and Roy Beerens strikes earned Royals maximum points.
Stam spoke to the media after the game.
On the game…
It was a very exciting game to watch because a lot happened during the game. I think we started very well, being aggressive going forward, being a threat going forward up until the 1-0.
After that spaces became a bit bigger. We spoke about it before the game – not giving them space or time because they’ve got quality players. It happened, I wouldn’t say they controlled the game but they went forward and were more of a threat and creating a couple of very good chances. We were very happy they didn’t score before half time.
The pitch didn’t help us or Brentford. In the short period after half-time we started OK but after that they got more into the game and within a very small period they scored two goals. We made a couple of substitutions and that paid off and we scored two goals. After that you want the fourth goal to control the game a bit more but they were trying to score the equaliser too.
On what the character says about the team…
It says a lot, but we’ve shown that before. Bristol City we were 2-0 down and won 3-2. There’s a belief within the team and the players in what they can achieve. We always talk about keeping on going and that’s what the players are doing.
There’s never an easy game for us, we know that, and we are willing to work very hard to get results and that’s what we’ve done today.
On getting a bit of fortune…
Sometimes you need to have a bit of luck. If you press the opposition, you go to the goalie and he miskicks it because he sees a player, that’s how you want to do things. You want to pick up that second ball.
Sometimes we were lucky with them missing chances but that’s football. We had several games we should’ve got more and didn’t get it.
On his side’s mentality…
I don’t think there’s one team in the league who is dominating every game, not one. We are one of the teams who has the most possession in the league. In football, and I know because I’ve been at the absolute top in the world, you need to have a certain mentality within the team to win games.
If the mentality is not there and you have a lot of quality then you’re not going to be winning trophies, I can tell you that. A combination of talent, quality, a certain mentality, you can do well and eventually get to where you want to go.
