EEL’S confident of upturn in fortunes
ETHAN Ebanks-landell insists Rochdale remain within touching distance of their National League play-target – and will be doing everyting in their power to edge closer to their goal today when they entertain Solihull Moors.
The Dale skipper admitted the side did not start the games against Aldershot and Dagenham &
Redbridge particularly well, and while they opened better against Altrincham last weekend, they fell to a 3-0 loss.
They bid to end a run of three successive losses at the Crown Oil Arena today and Ebanks-landell is confident they can still make up the points reqquired to challenge for a top-seven spot.
“To come out with the intent we did (against Altrincham) was good, but we’ve got to build on that and keep consistent for the rest of the game,” he said following the loss at Moss Lane.
“There will be a lot of work this week, but it’s not panic time at all. We’ll look at the film and work on it on the training ground. I’m sure that it’ll be a tough week in training. No one ever wants to lose, but we’ve just got to fight back and get onto the next moment, just like the manager always says.
“Our consistency in what we’re trying to build and what we’ve been trying to do has got us to where we are, which is a good standing in the league at the moment.
“Obviously, we are not where we want to be, not where our end goal is, but we’re still in touching distance of where we need to be. And with the consistent work we do every week on the training ground, I’m sure that we’ll pick the points back up.”
The Dale skipper went on to say how he was pleased to see a number of his team-mates return from injury.
“Up until this week, we’ve been on our last legs really, struggling to fill a bench,” said the defender.
“Now we’ve got a bit of hope with a lot of boys coming back from injury and obviously Dev’s [Devante Rodney] still to come back as well, so we’ve got a lot of squad building left and hopefully with those boys back we can get a full bench and fight on. It’s always good for competition. Competition is good for everyone.
“Everyone will be pushing each other to be better.
“You need to be able to fight for your spot every week and every day, and once you’re in the team, you want to be able to fight for it and keep it, and you have to be consistent to keep your spot.”