Manager Keith Hill spoke open and honestly after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Shrewsbury Town at Greenhous Meadow…
The Shrews opened the scoring through Stefan Payne early in the first half, with what proved to be the winner in a match lacking in clear cut chances. Keith Hill's side did have the ball in the back of the net on two occasions, but both were ruled out for offside.
“I’m disappointed with the result,” said Hill as he reflected on the game.
“The way we went about our business in the first half wasn’t good enough. It didn’t reflect the team that I picked, because of the marvellous work they did on Tuesday night, and it’s always a big conundrum for me picking the same side.
“We should have controlled proceedings better than we did today. To give them a goal gave them a lift and it gave the whole stadium a lift. It was just too much of a mountain to climb for us.
“We’ve had two goals that are offside, but we shouldn’t be offside in those situations. The first one is debatable but the second one isn’t.
“I’ve made positive substitutions and you want positive impacts, but I don’t think we’ve had that.”
He continued: “I feel worse today than I did against Northampton, because this was a real opportunity for us.
“You can’t just turn up and decide to be competitive and a winner on a Saturday. You’ve got to be a winner full stop. You’ve got to find a way to win and I haven’t had enough players today who have found a way to win. We’ve lost that game because, for me, we’re a little bit flaky.
“There are players who, when playing away from home, don’t play the same as at home, and that’s disappointing.
“I’ve got players in there who are on nought percent win ratio away from home and that can’t be happening.
“Today was an unbelievable opportunity and the players have failed to grasp it.”
Watch the full interview on Dale PlayerHD.