Manager Keith Hill spoke to Dale PlayerHD after his side secured a valuable point on the road…
Reflecting on the goalless draw with Fleetwood Town, he commented: “I think it was an even game.
“I thought we controlled possession for large amounts of the game. In the first half, I was really pleased with the way we played and the way we contained the opposition, and I think it’s a valuable point.
“I was really pleased with the way we played in the first half. It was brave and I thought Joe Raff was instrumental. I also thought Jamie Allen, who was back in the side, was where I needed him to be with the energy the commitment, the drive and the endeavour.”
He continued: “We had an intention to try and win the game. I changed [the side] from last week because I was uncomfortable with the 0-0 score line, whereas this week, I’m very comfortable with it.
“We’ve got players who are still catching up – Joe Thompson, Calvin Andrew, Oliver Rathbone, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing to a certain degree, Niall Canavan has played today for the first time in a long time, as has Andy Cannon, so we’re trying to pick up points while we’re giving players fitness.
“I’ve been looking at the run of games that we’ve had and I thought it was a great time to give Callum Camps an opportunity to rest, because he has been marvellous. It was mentally time for him to come out of the side – he’s played 26 consecutive games, which is a long, long time and a big amount of games. Congratulations to Campsy for carrying us so far and he will continue playing, but I thought it was time for Jamie to come in today.”
He added: “It was a worthy clean sheet. Looking at the second half, the two main goal scoring opportunities fell to David Ball straight after half time, which was a mistake by Ian Henderson, and Ian Henderson. The game could have been so different for us or for Fleetwood, so I’m reasonably pleased to come away with a point. It’s also a positive point when you consider that Southend have been beaten today.”
Watch the full interview on Dale PlayerHD.