Manager Keith Hill reflects on his side’s 2-0 pre-season friendly victory over Middlesbrough at the Crown Oil Arena...
An own goal from Daniel Ayala and a late Ollie Rathbone finish gave Dale their third victory of pre-season.
Speaking after the game, Hill told iFollow that he was more interested in the performance of his players than the result:
“I’m not bothered about the result to be honest, you want a competitive fixture and it was very competitive from both sets of players,” said Hill.
“I saw intent, we wanted to press, I played a pressing side, so I’m relatively pleased. I think in the first half we could have been better with the ball. The defensive shape was good but in the second half I thought our defence were tired and stepped off a little bit, making it very difficult for our midfielders.
“Going into the embers of the game we got the second goal and I think from a results point of view it will give the players confidence. They were very competitive and that’s what we want. We want pre-season games to be played in the right manner as if it’s a league fixture, and that’s what we tried to do.
“It was a stern test for us because I believe Middlesbrough will get an automatic return to the Premier League.”
Ian Henderson sustained a cut to the head which forced him off with 20 minutes remaining, and the Gaffer gave an update on his injury.
“He is okay. It was just a little bit of a graze, but there was a lot of blood.”
You can watch the full six-minute interview on iFollow.