Manager Keith Hill says he’s hoping for a positive performance when Dale take on Championship side Middlesbrough in Round Two of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night…
“It’s a good competition for us to go there and play free of pressure away from home,” said Hill.
“The players have got to accept responsibility for whichever team I select and whichever formation I go with. You can’t keep making the mistakes that we’re making. They are minor errors that are making big impacts on our early season games.
“I’m just hoping for a positive performance against Middlesbrough, who’ll have a strong side out, regardless of whether Tony [Pulis] decides to play his fringe players. Looking at the substitutes bench they had on Friday night and the players who weren’t involved, they’ve got a healthy squad. It’s going to be a big ask and a tough task but we’re going there with hopefully no pressure on the players to perform and looking to make sure we have a winning mentality.”
He continued: “Middlesbrough are a massive club and ex-Premier League. They’ve still got Premier League players, and with the players that they’ve got they’re a Premier League football club playing in the Championship.
“I know that Notts County went there and drew 3-3 and got knocked out on penalties in the last round, but it’s going to be a test and it’s going to be a test of our resolve and of an individual player to say ‘I’m going to roll my sleeves up and take on an excellent side and prove that we can play football and compete against an exceptional side in Middlesbrough’.”