Brian Barry-Murphy says his players will put Saturday’s heavy defeat at Peterborough United behind them.
Dale are straight back in action at home to Lincoln City on Tuesday, and the manager is confident his squad will be professional and aggressive in the way they approach the match.
“Our lads are very professional and very dedicated,” said Barry-Murphy.
“They’ll put that game behind them. We’ll learn from the game hugely, myself included. I take huge responsibility myself for parts of the game that I got wrong.
“I think the players will come out of it fine and I think we’ll be very professional and aggressive in the way we approach Tuesday’s game.
“We implore the lads to behave in a certain manner and they do that without me even having to ask them. It’s imperative that we continue on our journey towards what is going to be a very exciting stage of the season.
“It was a very difficult day for the lads [on Saturday], in terms of the score line. Strangely enough, at Southend, for the first 20 minutes of the game we were under the cosh, and we defended really well and resolutely. For the first 20 minutes of this game we were in control and were the most dangerous side.
“We’re very aware of how potent Peterborough are. They can score any number of goals on any given day within a matter of minutes. We just weren’t able to manage those moments well enough today. We made a lot of individual errors because of the potency of their attacking unit.
“Our lads have given us everything since the start of the season. Their physical performance and work has been exemplary.
“I can’t say anything bad about their application today. Tactically, there was a lot we could have done better.
“That dressing room is incredibly honest and they always give everything for the Club in every single game. Today was no exception and I was proud of the way they behaved.
“I’ve been in situations on the pitch myself when you’ve been losing by that score line. It’s very, very difficult to manage your emotions and they managed to do that. They were hurting at the end, but I think the supporters appreciated that in the end, in what was a hard day for them as well.”