Manager Keith Hill says his players have been “tremendous” as they prepare for Saturday’s League One fixture against Scunthorpe United at Spotland.
Speaking to Dale PlayerHD ahead of the game, he admits that he has been pleased with the response following last weekend’s defeat.
“The game against Burton Albion was a massive learning curve for us. We’ve got players at this club who learn and they also respond quickly, and I’m sure there has been a lot of deep thinking from the players, especially Saturday night/ Sunday.
“But the lads have kicked on and they’ve been tremendous this week. There has been a positive response. We won’t let Saturday dilute what has been a brilliant start for the football club.”
Dale have amassed four points more this season after seven games compared with the same number of games last season, and while Hill tries not to take too much notice of that, he also says it’s a good way to gauge how the team is progressing.
“It’s difficult to compare and you’ve got to try not to, but sometimes you do it to reassure yourself that you’re making progress because that is one indication.
“The league is over 46 games and we accumulated some very good points over this period last season - we want to do the same this season. We want to pick up as many points as we possibly can.
“We’ve got to maintain, but we’ve also got to stick to our principles and the way that we play. We will lose games, but if we lose games sticking to our principles, then at least I can lie straight in bed.”
The Iron travel to Spotland for this weekend’s League One fixture but Hill says the focus has been on Dale.
“Scunthorpe are a good side. They were one of the favourites for automatic promotion before a ball was kicked. I know they’ve had a lot of injuries but they got a positive result last week against a very, very good Coventry side.
“I make plans and contingencies for the opposition but we’ve got to focus on what we’re good at and that’s what we’ve been doing this week.”
The full interview is on Dale PlayerHD.