Manager Keith Hill has told iFollow that he believes the players are capable enough of winning “some magnificent games” between now and the end of the season in the fight against relegation if there’s a no fear mentality.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup third round tie against Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat Stadium, Hill commented: “I’ve not stopped believing in the way we’re doing things.
“We’re doing things in a very similar manner to last season and the season before that and the season before that with a different group of players , and we’ve been very successful using those methods.
“It’s difficult on a matchday to legislate for the kind of mistakes that are being made, either in front of the opponents’ goal or in front of our goal. At the moment, it’s a recipe for failure and we’ve got to try and stop the buck, so, for me, once you accept your fate – and I don’t mean this in a condescending or a negative way – they should be able to bounce.
“We’re all addicts and if you want to recover, you’ve got to reach rock bottom to then bounce. I’m addicted to this football club and to this group of players, and personally, I don’t now see what the fear is. We have 100-percent always been in a relegation battle – I’ve been preparing for relegation battles at the start of every season throughout my time at the club.
“We’ve been putting fires out at this football club for a long time with a great amount of success. We’ve concealed where we should be with all the success that we’ve had.
“We’ve won some magnificent games in pursuit of avoiding relegation in the previous three seasons in League One and we’re going to have to win some magnificent games, including cup games, to avoid relegation this season. We’re capable of doing it, but there has got to be that bounce mentality, that no fear mentality, that ten men attitude where we’re fighting everybody, and then let’s see what happens.”
He continued: “You’ve got to fight the right way, there’s no point in fighting and keep on getting knocked out. We don’t want that attitude of being a rubbish nightclub doorman who keeps getting beaten every time he goes to work. We want to win football matches, we want to fight the right way, both with and without the ball.
“I’m not being funny, at any other football club I think I would have been sacked by now. That’s testament to the Board of Directors and the Chairman that we do things right at this football club. The results probably puts them under a little bit of pressure, but we’ve worked well together and we’ll continue to work well together. I’ve been given the opportunity to guide this football club and I continue to want to guide this football club and that won’t change.
“I will not diminish from my responsibilities of standing alongside my players on the touchline, as long as the players are 100-percent behind me, which they are.”
The full 13- minute is on iFollow.