Phil’s not pulling his punches after loss
SOUTHEND manager Phil Brown provided a brutal assessment of another poor away performance from his side, saying: “If it’s personnel, I’ll get rid of them. If it’s not personnel then they’ll get rid of me.”
Headed goals from Niall Canavan and Calvin Andrew and a late Nathaniel MendezLaing effort saw an excellent Rochdale side coast to the points, but it was the manner of the defeat that left Brown upset.
“It was very frustrating. I felt as if this week, with the work that we’ve done on and off the field of play, the results that we’ve been getting at Roots Hall, was almost a turning point,” said Brown.
“Maybe I picked the wrong team. I hold myself fully responsible for the result. I’ve just levelled them the criticism of the away performances and the mentality of the team. It’s my job to get to the bottom of it.
“This mentality has to change. I think I’ve got a good group, a strong group of players that are underachieving.
“Results always dictate. It doesn’t matter what you are as a manager or what you’ve been as a manager. Results will dictate my future and they’ll also dictate the future of Southend United.”
The Shrimpers began with a bold 3-4-3 formation but were outclassed by a Rochdale side full of confidence having come into the match on the back of five consecutive wins.
Dale took the lead on 18 minutes when Canavan headed in a Joe Bunney free-kick before doubling the lead on 27 minutes as Joe Rafferty crossed for the unmarked Andrew who headed home.
The win was sealed on 84 minutes when Mendez-Laing raced through and fired beyond Mark Oxley. In contrast to Brown, Rochdale manager Keith Hill was full of nothing but praise.
“I thought there was everything that you ask for as a manager in that performance. We played well and controlled the pace of the game and we controlled the opposition,” said Hill.
“I was really pleased with every aspect of the game, good goals, a clean sheet, but it was the discipline of the side which delighted me. We have some young players who showed great maturity.
“We knew we’d been playing well but making mistakes and when you do that you become a bit anxious and it shows in the performance,” he added. “When we had that first three points on the board it was a case of revisiting what we’ve always done, which is get results.”