Whites boss Dougie Freedman believes his side are now silencing the doubters who congregated during Wanderers’ poor start to the season.
A 1-0 win at Watford – the Whites’ third on the spin away from home – stretched their unbeaten run to eight games and lifted them into 15th place in the table.
Jermaine Beckford scored the crucial goal at Vicarage Road but it was the team performance that had the manager purring after the final whistle.
Wanderers had gone 10 games without chalking up a win at the start of the campaign, a sequence that had bookmakers forecasting Freedman as the most likely Championship manager to get the sack.
But with his side now showing signs that they could again mount a challenge for a play-off spot in the second half of the campaign, the Scot is enjoying the opportunity to prove some people wrong.
“We got a lot of stick at the start of the season from people who think they know what they are talking about but I felt we stayed strong in that difficult moment, changed a couple of personnel, and now we have got our form back,” he said.
“I don’t get up in the morning wanting to prove people wrong but it’s very disappointing when you have got certain people making judgement on you so soon.
“I just think you have got to get behind your team and it can’t always be riding high.
"There are ups and downs and many managers go through those stages and give up on the job but me and my backroom staff stuck together and we weren’t out there criticising anyone.
“Along the way I know we’re going to take a couple of knocks but I just feel it shouldn’t be that way.
“Our fans have been terrific but I think there has got to be a bit more time given to teams when they are trying to change things around.”
Wanderers are now on their best run of away form in five years, with Gary Megson’s class of 2008 the last to win three games in succession on the road.
And Freedman felt his team warranted taking three points home from last season’s beaten play-off finalists.
“I felt we played good football and expressed ourselves well on the ball in the first half and in the second half defended fantastically well,” he added.
“I’ll go on a little rant – the key decision making from defenders was fantastic against a team who tactically are very difficult to play against, with an excellent manager.
“I think we deserved it in the end because they didn’t open us up at all or create any clear-cut chances.”
A 1-0 win at Watford – the Whites’ third on the spin away from home – stretched their unbeaten run to eight games and lifted them into 15th place in the table.
Jermaine Beckford scored the crucial goal at Vicarage Road but it was the team performance that had the manager purring after the final whistle.
Wanderers had gone 10 games without chalking up a win at the start of the campaign, a sequence that had bookmakers forecasting Freedman as the most likely Championship manager to get the sack.
But with his side now showing signs that they could again mount a challenge for a play-off spot in the second half of the campaign, the Scot is enjoying the opportunity to prove some people wrong.
“We got a lot of stick at the start of the season from people who think they know what they are talking about but I felt we stayed strong in that difficult moment, changed a couple of personnel, and now we have got our form back,” he said.
“I don’t get up in the morning wanting to prove people wrong but it’s very disappointing when you have got certain people making judgement on you so soon.
“I just think you have got to get behind your team and it can’t always be riding high.
"There are ups and downs and many managers go through those stages and give up on the job but me and my backroom staff stuck together and we weren’t out there criticising anyone.
“Along the way I know we’re going to take a couple of knocks but I just feel it shouldn’t be that way.
“Our fans have been terrific but I think there has got to be a bit more time given to teams when they are trying to change things around.”
Wanderers are now on their best run of away form in five years, with Gary Megson’s class of 2008 the last to win three games in succession on the road.
And Freedman felt his team warranted taking three points home from last season’s beaten play-off finalists.
“I felt we played good football and expressed ourselves well on the ball in the first half and in the second half defended fantastically well,” he added.
“I’ll go on a little rant – the key decision making from defenders was fantastic against a team who tactically are very difficult to play against, with an excellent manager.
“I think we deserved it in the end because they didn’t open us up at all or create any clear-cut chances.”
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