Manager Brian Barry-Murphy has praised the performance of his players in Dale’s 1-0 win over Southend United and thanked the fans for their support…
“I thought it was a great day for the players and the supporters,” said BBM in his post-match interview.
“Against a difficult opponent in Southend, I thought we nullified them for large periods of the game and then our game plan was quite successful really.
“It was just a case of whether or not that goal was going to come. We were patient in our attacking play and that was rewarded in the second half. I thought it was a good performance – I was very happy with it.”
BBM admits that the players were on a high after the Easter Monday victory over Bristol Rovers but says he saw great focus from them in the short lead up to the game against the Shrimpers on Saturday.
“My main issue was trying to get the players down for this as they were very excited after the game against Bristol Rovers. I was very keen to give them the best possible chance to perform to the level that they had been doing. I saw a great focus from the whole squad in training and they were in a good place.
“It would have been very easy for our lads to have become conscious of being clear, or the points total, or what was needed, but I sensed from early in the game that there was a great sense of calmness and the players showed great composure against a team who we did quite well against and a team who I’ve seen pose loads of problems for other teams, so it was very rewarding for the players to produce that performance.
“Southend could have been a very dangerous team but our lads were really focused and implemented what we wanted to do. That’s great credit to our players on how they handled the game.”
During Barry-Murphy’s tenure to date, Rochdale have lost just two in 10 while he has been at the helm, but the Dale boss is still as modest as ever.
“I feel a little bit embarrassed about the whole stats thing because it has been a short burst of games. I feel embarrassed when I get plaudits because it’s the players who have put in an incredible amount of work and it goes right back to working under Chris and Keith.
“They put the structure in the place that we’re seeing the benefits of now. I just think I have given the players a chance to find some consistency that we haven’t had for a while, and their performances have been down to their hard work, nothing else. We’ve just helped them. All my support staff, including Lee and Tony, have been amazing in giving them that platform and convincing the players that they could produce performances that could lead to a run of results.
“We haven’t had runs of results at this clubs for over two seasons, and that’s what put us in the predicament that we were in. League One is such a tough league that you have to be prepared to lose games, but it’s how you bounce back, and we’ve shown that during this period.”
And BBM has thanked fans for their support this season and over the last 10 games.
“I think the support has been amazing.
“Our supporters travelling to our away games have been incredible, especially when you consider how expensive those trips can be, and it was rewarding for me to see the fans come out at our home stadium.
“There seemed to be hundreds and hundreds of young children there, and it’s great for them to be at the game when they see joyous scenes. I thought it was really good for the players and fans to have that moment at that moment at the end of the match. The players have to enjoy themselves and thank the fans for their support.”
Watch the full interview on iFollow.