Boss Paul Lambert felt his side could have scored five or six goals in the first half of their 4-1 victory over Accrington Stanley and again insisted it’s players that win matches not systems as well as commenting on owner Marcus Evans’s programme notes on the club’s footballing style going forward and stating that he believes there are those that want Town to fail.
"The first half I thought was excellent, really good, it could have been five or six. The first half probably got us the win,” Lambert said.
What was different from previous games? "Even the games we’ve lost or drawn, we’ve had most of the game, most of the ball, most of the game, most of the chances.
"It was just the intensity I thought, that’s going to happen because they’re not used to playing like that every single week. A good win.”
He added: "We’ve dominated games before without getting the break. As I said the other day, we had 73 penalty box entries against Bristol Rovers. Today we have probably had the same in the first half, I’ve not seen the stats, but we were clinical. That was the difference.
"We played a different way. As I said before, it’s a lot of nonsense about systems, a lot of nonsense, it’s about players.
"It’s nonsense, absolute bollocks it is. Bollocks, it really is. You’ve just got to get that out of your head, systems don’t win you games, players do. We work on it for one week and we win 4-1.
"[We worked] on a different way of playing, it’s amazing. The players were great, really, really good.”
Town’s overlapping centre-halves, the most notable change from previous games which he says was worked on for "a couple of days” this week, drew comparisons with Sheffield United’s current approach with Lambert a fan of the Blades having watched them last Sunday in their FA Cup tie against AFC Fylde, who are currently sixth in the Premier League.
"If we get anywhere near Sheffield United, we’re doing alright. [The centre-halves created a lot of opportunities to score goals], Luke Woolfenden did great for the first one [Chambers put the ball] in for Judgey for the third one.”
Asked whether that had any relation to Evans’s statement about the club playing "technical” football, he said: "Marcus wants us to play silky football, is that what he wants, and then we lose games? Is that what he wants?”
Might Evans take some credit for coming up with the system? "Marcus came up with that system? The next game Marcus can sit here, let me and Marcus swap roles, I’ll take that any day of the week. I’ll take all the yachts, I’ll take all the planes, I’ll take all the holidays. I’ll let him sit here and he can do what I do.
"Listen, I guarantee if the football club gets promoted and we’re not playing great football, he’ll be the first one to jump over the moon.
"You’ve got to try and win. Play silky, silky, silky, silky - lose. The game’s about winning football. What do we play football for? What do we play professional sport for?”
Lambert was reminded of NFL coach Vince Lombardi’s famous quote, 'If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?’.
"Absolutely, take away the two goals,” he said. "You’ve got to win. Winning is the thing, I was brought up in an era when I had to win, and thank God I won trophies coming out of my ears.
"I won the biggest things in Europe, I won the biggest titles. I know what it is to win. But I can look back and I’ll see a lot of trophies.”
Asked why he hadn’t come in to his press conference bouncing after what was an important victory, Lambert responded: "I think people want us to fail, without a doubt. The football club is not used to winning all the time, ‘We have to win, we have to win, we have to win’.
"The guys aren’t used to it, the guys are young guys, some are experienced guys but it’s the first time in a long while the pressure’s on to try and do something.
"Two different pressures winning a title and staying in a division. Two totally different things.”
"Quizzed on who he believes want Town to fail, he said: "I know there are people who want us to fail, I don’t need no names, I know people want us to fail.”
Did he use that as a motivating factor today? "No, I’ve got my own feelings and I’ve got my own mind on it. I’m absolutely delighted the lads won, they played brilliant football, we looked really, really good, the way we played.
"And I’m happy with the support, it’s unbelievable, 18,000 against Accrington, the German lads coming over, absolutely brilliant. The football club as I said before is in a really, really good place, a really good place.”
Town were unchanged for successive league games for the first time this season and Lambert says it’s down to players to keep their shirts.
"Try and keep it, yes,” he added. "OK, barring one or two little knocks, we have to wait and see. We have another game Tuesday. We’re three points off the top with a game in hand, it’s a bloody good position we’re in.”
Questioned on whether it’s now a case of getting some momentum going having ended the winless run, he added: "I don’t want to play silky football all the time and lose or draw, I don’t want it. I’ve not been brought up that way. This is not my mantra, to play great, lovely football without having something at the end of it.
"You have to win. The winning is the main aspect of any professional sport. That quote is a brilliant quote, ‘why keep the score?’.
"You try and do the best you can to win, regardless of how you do it, and that’s professional sport.”
Might Evans’s comments about style be unhelpful that being the case? "Marcus has been brilliant, I’ve always said that, I’ve said that from day one that Marcus has been great. If Marcus has said that or not, it doesn’t matter to me.”
Are the two on the same page? "No, I can’t stand him and he can’t stand me!” he joked. "Of course, I get on well with him, I get on well with him, I fight with him, he fights with me.
"I say, ‘No, that’s not good enough’, he says, ‘That’s all I can do’. No problem, we meet in the middle, we try and do the same thing.
"He’s a good guy, he’s a good chairman [sic] to work under, will I agree with everything he says? No. Will he agree with me? No.
"He’s the one that holds the big thing at this club. He can do what he wants, hire, fire, employ, get rid of people. He can do what he wants with it. It’s his club, it’s his money, you have to respect what he wants to do.”
Reflecting on the positive result and performance, he added: "I think it’s brilliant, even the games we drew and we lost a couple here and there, which I said was always going to happen.
"But, my God, a couple of defeats here and you think the world’s caved in, it’s incredible. People will think that that’s fine, that’s why the guys deserve so much credit for today, because the way they played and handled everything that was coming.
"Accrington were in really good form, John’s done really well there and we knew it would be a hard game but the actual level we played today was very, very good.”