Manager Keith Hill reacts to Dale’s draw with Oxford United at the Crown Oil Arena…
“As long as these players are trying and they care – and they do care, they care very much - then I’m reasonably happy with the result,” said Hill.
“The players accept the demands and the challenges, but there’s too much stress in the way that they play – they just need that little bit of confidence. We’ve got to try and take away the stress and the anxiety, and that’s down to me and the staff.
“With respect to the performance, I thought it was OK. At times it was forgettable, but we had one or two bright sparks and some good play, and I think Oxford were content for a draw in the end.
“Oxford have got a lot of pace and lot of counter attacking opportunities, but we defended quite well. I was really pleased with the way we defended and shut them out at times, but we just didn’t get it going or firing at times in the opposite direction.
“We’ve scored nine goals in the last three games but none today, but 90-percent of what you worry about doesn’t actually happen, so we’ve got to make sure that we give the lads that little bit confidence that they need.
“The clean sheet pleases me [after last week at Bradford], but I think if we had won 4-3 today, then I’d be happier than I am at this moment in time. There are always positive points and negative points, though, so you’ve got to look beyond both.
“To a certain degree, the performance was enough, but there’s a demand to win those games because of the position we’re in, but we haven’t done. A point is better than nothing, and as we go into the Christmas period and the turn of the New Year, it’s important that we make the most of the remaining games. We’re more than capable of picking up enough three points in the remaining games.”
Watch the full interview, which is 10 minutes long, on iFollow.