Manager Keith Hill spoke to Dale Player following the Easter Monday win over Bristol Rovers…
“I trust these lads and they’re amazing,” said Hill. “We had to remind each other of just how good we are and Dan [Fradley] put a compilation together of the season successes so far. We played it on the coach coming to the ground, and wow, it made me feel 10 feet tall, as well as the players. It was a great reminder of how good we are and I think we performed superbly today. It was passes, possession, penetration and product - it was just typical of what we have been accustomed to and we have to remind ourselves of that on a regular basis.
“It was an emotional day today for a lot of reasons. I was encouraged to take Peter Vincenti off because he lost consciousness [following a head knock] and I couldn’t have that on my conscience – Peter is much more important than a game of football. Then Joe Bunney, who has had a bereavement in the family, comes on, and you could see the emotions when he scored. He has been absolutely outstanding and it was a great finish.
“I feel as though every one of them players today deserved the three points because I think we’ve been harshly treated over the last four games or so, especially the last two, but today we bounced back with a little bit of style.”
Dale came from behind to record the victory after going a goal down against the run of play in the 18th minute, and Hill praised the character of his tight-knit team.
“At half time we reassured everybody of how good we are. There were a few lads beating themselves up, but for what reason? We make mistakes, everybody does. You’ve got to be very forgiving and you’ve got to make sure that the next time you get an opportunity, whether that’s in football or in life, you take it and that’s what the players have done today. They were magnificent and the supporters were magnificent before the game, during the game and after the game. They were obviously outnumbered but it was special at the end and emotional as well. I was over with my Mum, Joe Bunney was over with his Dad and his family, and there were a lot of parents in there. Olly Lancashire’s parents were in there etc, etc. It’s a very, very tight knit team/ family.”
The full interview is on Dale Player.