Chris Brown spoke to iFollow after his side’s 1-0 defeat at Shrewsbury Town in their first game of the 2017/18 season.
The hosts had the better of the chances in the opening 45 minutes, and although Dale edged proceedings after the break, a fine finish from Josh Agbozo condemned Brown’s side to defeat.
“From their point of view it was a good finish. Overall, we didn’t start very well. It took us about 45 minutes to get it right. The performance levels after 45 minutes were better. The first 45 though, what was expected of the lads, they didn’t bring it.
“Second half was much better, we created some good chances but our quality let us down in the final third, and you get punished by not putting chances away.”
Changes at half-time and early in the second half helped Dale get themselves on top in the second period, but they were hit against the run of play with the only goal of the game eleven minutes from time.
“We changed shape and put some different personnel on. The subs that came on wanted to compete rather than just stepping off them. The shape helped, we got into some good areas of the pitch, it was just our quality that let us down which we really need to work on.
“It’s hard to take, but its only the first game. Hopefully, our attitude and application, individually and collectively, is going to be much better from the start rather than from 45 minutes onwards.”
You can watch the full interview on iFollow.