Manager Keith Hill spoke to Dale Player following Saturday’s League One opener v Peterborough United at Spotland…
“That’s the enormity of the task – you can play well and lose, but we don’t want to just get a lot of accolades for the way that we play. We performed with a lot of bravery and a lot of encouragement, but ultimately the bottom line says we got beat 1-0,” said Hill.
“We got beaten by a very good side in Peterborough who are expected to be promotion contenders, whether it’s the top two or a play-off place, but I think we held our own.
“I would suggest that we were unfortunate, but again, we would have to, if were to be successful this season, defend that type of situation better because for 99% of the game today we were outstanding.
“It’s the small detail, the mini mistakes, the lack of concentration at times that can undo you in League One and it becomes harder when you get the Championship and it becomes even harder when you get to the Premier League, so the standard that we’re playing at is a step up from last season, but I thought we executed our game plan superbly.
"I can’t see any reason why we won’t be encouraged by that performance. I think the confidence levels of the boys should remain high.”
Scott Tanser, who was handed his first start for the club, earned himself the Man of the Match Award, and Hill was full of praise for the 19-year-old.
“He’s an outstanding talent and he reads the game superbly. We’ve been preparing him all last season for this type of opportunity. For him to be making his first start against Peterborough in League One is testament to how much we trust him, how much we developed him and how much he developed last season. And equally, I think he’s more than capable of playing left full back. He’s a very good player, very flexible and I’m more than happy to put my trust him because he won’t let me down.”
Dale face Preston North End at Spotland on Tuesday night in the first round of the Capital One Cup and Hill is expecting a tough encounter.
“We can’t build up negative pressure because if you look at the league we can’t compete financially with any team really, but we can compete in other ways likes we did on Saturday. We can compete on the training pitch with our plans and we’ll have another plan for Preston and let’s hope we can execute it. But let’s be right, Preston for me are the stand out favourites. I think they’re really geared for automatic promotion.”
The full interview is available to view on Dale Player.