Rochdale AFC

The two home friendlies in the space of a week have allowed the Gaffer to give the majority of his players the opportunity to complete 90 minutes, and he's pleased with what has been on show.

“We’re getting a lot of what we want, there’s no question about that,” Hill told Dale Player as he reflected on the game against the Terriers.

“There was a lot of enthusiasm against Huddersfield, we closed down well, we kept the ball well during the first half in particular and we created. I think we’ve created opportunities in every game and we’re getting better and better.

“I thought the lads were magnificent, but again I suppose that we made one or two mistakes where we shouldn’t be giving the ball away in our defensive third. We have to eradicate that, we have to make sure that we progress by not making those types of mistakes, but equally so we still have to be brave in possession. We have to be careful because we do want to score goals but we also want to not concede goals.”

He continued: “It’s energising that the players are playing for a shirt against Peterborough. I think the performances against Blackburn and Huddersfield were superb. Considering that we’ve put two fresh teams of eleven out, I think everyone has given themselves an opportunity to play.

“We’ve got to trust our judgement in selecting a team from the players that we’ve got available and some of the players are definitely catching up. 

“We’ll employ different systems against different opposition. The players have got to be flexible, but with that, the supporters have got to be flexible as well. 

“We’ve gone a long way since the traditions of the 4-4-2 and that’s one thing where I feel as though the game in England has caught up to the continental game.

“I think we’ve got a good attacking intent, but we still have to work on defensive individual errors.”

The full interview is available to view on Dale Player.