Dale boss admits: ‘I’m killing Hendo’
JIM Mcnulty admits he’s ‘killing’ Rochdale’s record goalscorer Ian Henderson as the head coach deals with a raft of injuries.
Fellow frontmen Devante Rodney and Kairo Mitchell are both among the players sidelined, leaving Henderson as the only recognised centre forward available to Mcnulty.
At 38 years of age, Mcnulty would prefer to use experienced goalgetter Henderson sparingly – but he’s had little option but to rely on him in recent weeks.
It highlights the shallow depths of the playing squad at the club and, given Rochdale’s well documented financial struggles, Mcnulty has little hope of strengthening the ranks.
Despite the injury crisis at the club, Dale are currently among the National League play-off contenders.
But the head coach insists they are ‘massively over-achieving.’
“I’m really concerned that I can’t help them,” he said following last weekend’s win at home against
Kidderminster Harriers. “I’m very concerned that we can’t support this. Truthfully, I think we’re massively overachieving, we really are, for what for what we’ve got available what we’ve had available all season.
“The front of the pitch at the moment, my good friend Hendo, my teammate, a guy who gives us everything – I’m killing him at the moment.
“He scored on Saturday and led the line amazingly. He found energy that he’s not had for the last couple of weeks. Him, like many others, they’ve looked flat and I can’t help them. I also can’t flog them. I can’t. I can’t criticize them, I’ve just got to keep asking them to find something when I know how tough that is.
“But I thought he was amazing, he shone for us at the top end of the pitch in what was a really difficult game energy-wise.
“But he’s my friend, he’s 39 soon and he’s on his own, literally, centre forward-wise at the moment, he’s our only one.
“The other guys were all digging deep around him. Jimmy Keohane played left wing, Ryan East again played up front, Tyrese
Sinclair returned to the team, which was helpful for us, and he scored a great goal, I was so, so happy for him.
“So I’m delighted where we are, but we’re overachieving, we really are.
“We have the quality but we don’t have the quantity. I know what we need, I know what we do but I don’t think we can do it, unfortunately.”
Asked if he believed the resources were available to strengthen, Mcnulty answered ‘No.’
And when it was suggested he couldn’t keep fielding the same eleven players every week, he said: “You would think not, but we’ll have to.”
Dale are without a fixture this weekend with many of their National League counterparts in FA Trophy action.
Dale are at home again next weekend when they entertain Wealdstone.