Run could play on mind: Hill
KEITH Hill said Rochdale’s winless start to the season was possibly playing on some players’ minds – but insisted unity was the key to kickstarting the campaign.
“It probably does weigh heavily on the players, probably more on them than it does on me,” he said following Saturday’s 3-0 loss against Blackburn. “Players have got to be careful, they have got to stay united and when you are losing matches it is very difficult to be united. But there has to be a unity in what we are trying to achieve. If we don’t continue our unity then you’re in real trouble.
“We were in the same position this time last year and there is no guarantee of anything at Rochdale other than we try our very best and we’ll continue to do that. But it’s difficult being a player confidence-wise and probably fitness-wise for one or two.”
Hill is having to contend with illness, injuries and suspensions, but refused to fall back on them as excuses.
“There’s many a manager sat in pubs now without a job saying ‘if only them players were fit, I didn’t have that red card, if only!’ The fact of the matter is you are judged on the matches and we were inferior to what I consider to be the best team in the league,” he said. “I’m not putting any pressure on Tony Mowbray, but when you look at the players they’ve got and they are bringing Danny Graham off the bench, who cost them £2.5 million, it’s a totally different football club and they all turned up. That’s not an excuse, I think we should have done better but we didn’t.
“We managed to get one or two players back on the pitch but now it’s about getting back up to speed quickly. But we are missing players, like Ian Henderson he is integral to the way we play and press and it seems a lot more difficult when we don’t have players available to press higher up the pitch.”