Manager Keith Hill on Dale’s defeat to Blackburn Rovers…
“They are a better side than us, there’s no denying that,” he told iFollow.
“They were probably at their best today and they’ve acclimatised well to League One after a couple of early season shocks.
“It was a difficult afternoon but I can’t and I won’t give up on the players because I think they’re tremendous in the pursuit of trying to do it right, but Blackburn were better than us.
“It’s difficult admitting that, because I always back myself as an underdog against anyone and I’ll back the team, but unfortunately that was the case.
“It’s something we have to accept and move on.”
He continued: “They’ve got experienced players – players who are still close to being at the top of their game if they want to be. They make good decisions and today they made better decisions than our players in and out of possession.
“We tried our best without any real end product and it’s a hard day when it’s like that. You just don’t want it to ebb away at your own commitment and your own confidence, and that’s why there can’t be too much evaluation. The fact of the matter is, we’ve been beaten by a better side and I think they’ll be Champions by the end of the season.”
Joe Bunney, Josh Lillis and Ollie Rathobe returned to the squad on Saturday after recovering from injury, and while Hill is pleased they’re back in action, he’s also mindful that they need time to catch up.
“They’re back on the pitch and now it’s about getting back up to speed quickly, and that comes from training and playing. Today was a combination of playing without having really trained.
“We’re missing players like Ian Henderson who is influential to the way that we play, the way that we press, and it seems a lot more difficult when we don’t have players available to press higher up the pitch.”
Watch the full interview on iFollow.