Hill: We will go down if we put too much stress onto Dale players
KEITH Hill is determined to reduce the stress levels on his players as Rochdale head into the festive programme.
Saturday’s goalless draw against Oxford at the Crown Oil Arena saw Dale slip into the bottom four of League One, but the performance against what is a play-off chasing side offered cause for optimism.
And Hill will look to build on that in the upcoming run of four games within a 10-day period, starting with Saturday’s home match against Walsall.
The Dale chief said he was looking to get back to the mentality adopted by himself and his players when he first took over as manager in December 2006.
“The players accept the challenges and the demands on them, but sometimes there is too much stress in the way they play and they just need a little bit of confidence,” said Hill.
“We have to try to take away the stress and the anxiety and that has to be from myself and my staff.
“We have to let them make mistakes, accept that they make mistakes and that they will make more mistakes, and if we lose games and we end up getting relegated it’s not as though we’re not trying.
“If we put too much stress on the players we will definitely get relegated, no question, so we have to get back to that mentality we had when I first took over at the club – I think we had 20 points from 22 games then. I have to go back to that mentality where I just enjoy the players on the training pitch and enjoy the way they are trying to make an impression to support the fans and everybody who works at this club.
“We were talking this week about the history of the club and there’s only been nine seasons in League One out of 110 years.” BEHIND Pep Guardiola’s increasingly exaggerated celebrations in recent weeks is a deep sense of self-satisfaction after proving his doubters wrong.
Jose Mourinho believed the jubilant scenes inside Old Trafford after City’s derby victory were over the top to the point of disrespectful.
The Football Association asked Guardiola to explain his confrontation with Nathan Redmond after the last-gasp win against Southampton last month, while his jig following Tuesday’s Carabao Cup shoot-out victory against Leicester was in danger of going viral on social media.
Guardiola’s ever-more joyous reactions have been noted by rivals and observers alike.
He insists it is a case of savouring the process, rather than waiting for the trophies to be handed out. But it is rooted in his belief that his methods have been justified after having to fend off accusations he had underestimated the Premier League.
There is an acceptance within the Etihad that Guardiola had been surprised by the competitiveness of English football’s top flight, despite his repeated insistence last season that the intensity of this country was no different to other major leagues in Europe.
But Guardiola refused to compromise his principles - a stance that has been given the ultimate justification after City’s incredible start to the season.
Following Saturday’s 4-1 win against Tottenham he declared: “I don’t want to be humble right now.”
It followed his post-derby comments when he stated: “They said in England you cannot play that way. In England, you can play that way.”
While Guardiola has repeatedly played down City’s trophy chances this season - insisting they will not emulate Arsenal’s Invincibles or win an unprecedented quadruple - his true feelings about his team’s potential have betrayed that modesty.
They have also pointed to the irritation he felt in his first year in charge at the Etihad when he endured a trophyless season for the first time in his managerial career.
Among the most satisfying aspects of this campaign for Guardiola has been the fact that a record 16-game winning run in the Premier League has been achieved with the vast majority of players who were at his disposal last season.
Ederson and Kyle Walker have been the only mainstays of his strongest XI who weren’t at the club last term.
Guardiola considers it a personal triumph that John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi, Fabian Delph, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane have shown such remarkable improvement.
And even the more experienced Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva and Fernandinho have raised their game to new heights.
That is a direct result of his coaching practices and the players’ trust in his methods.
That was in doubt in a troubled first year when Claudio Bravo endured a nightmare spell and City suffered heavy defeats at the hands of Leicester and Everton in particular. Guardiola was given a budget of £300m to improve his squad - which he ultimately came in considerably under - but it is his existing players who have been the bedrock of success.
Despite criticism last season, his inner circle remained fiercely supportive of his work, while he was unmoved in his belief he would crack English football, even if he had been challenged like never before in his career.
There was a strong belief within him and his coaching team that the penny had dropped - almost immediately after the 4-0 January defeat to Everton.
If not for injury to Gabriel Jesus in February - crucially ruling him out