Jimmy McNulty says that Dale's 1-1 draw with Kidderminster Harriers was a good point away from home.
Ethan Ebanks-Landell's 75th-minute equaliser ensured that the points were shared on what was a very hot day in Kidderminster.
"Overall, it’s a good point away from home on what was a difficult day. It was hot, so hot, which was a massive factor in the game," said McNulty.
"It slowed the game down a lot – the ball was out of play a lot and it was really hard today to keep the game going.
"I think that’s something the opponent does well, actually. I identified pre-game that when the ball is out of play they take their time, they set things up and at times and I think the officials have to play their part by being mindful of that and just at the very least try to adhere to the rules and try to keep the ball in play, because we’re the team that wants to keep the ball in play as much as possible.
"I think if you count the phases or attacks back compared to a normal game, it would have been so much lower and I was mindful of that after the game, which leads me into the important point which is that going 1-0 down in games is increasingly difficult.
"We’ve gone 1-0 down in a few too many games which just makes it harder for us. Teams sit in, and when the ball is out of play they try to keep it out of play for a long time and if it’s not going to be officiated well then it’s something that they can do.
"We don’t want to play the clock, we want to play football and as much as possible, get the ball in play.
"With all those difficult circumstances, I think it was good. The character that we’ve shown to stay in the game, be patient and wait, try to push, try to build, try to play, try to keep the ball in play, try to do all things the opposition didn’t want us to do.
"In the end, I was really delighted with our captain going and getting the goal for the team, because he [Ethan Ebanks-Landell] deserved it. He kept his clarity and his leadership skills were there throughout the game on a day I thought Kiddy [Kidderminster Harriers] made tough for us.
"It's always good to add goals from set-pieces – it’s a massive part of the game, especially at this level. He has been important for us in that area, as have some other players.
"Even when we don’t score directly from it, Ebanks himself won a penalty for us at York. It’s all from set-piece routines, and they are huge.
"We work on them constantly and we try to prevent them, try to defend them and try to score from them.
"We’ll take our lessons from this game – it’s important that we do because it’s difficult going 1-0 down against teams with the way we are playing and the way teams are defending against us, it’s difficult going 1-0 down.
"We have to try and manage the moments that the opposition have as much as possible. We said to each other what we thought was important to say to each other at half-time. I thought the team reacted really well in the second half– showed character, showed bravery, showed belief, and I’m glad that we can go away from this game with a point on what was a tough day.
"We can take a look over how the game was off the back of an away point which was good."
Watch the full interview with McNulty below via our official YouTube channel.