(Picture: Action Images via Reuters)
Rochdale manager Keith Hill has accused his players of having a ‘losing mentality’ after their defeat to Shrewsbury on Saturday extended their wretched away form.
After losing 1-0 to the struggling Shrews, Dale have won just five of their 20 games on the road this season, and now find themselves ninth in League One and a daunting six points off the play-off places.
On home soil, Hill’s side have been excellent – winning 12 of their 19 games at Spotland – but it is the away results that look to have derailed their season and the manager wants more from his players.
Speaking to Radio Manchester, the 47-year-old said: “The players have got to prove to me and the supporters that they can do it away from home.
“I’m dealing with players that, characteristically, support a losing mentality – especially away from home.”
The weekend defeat looks to have ended any hope Rochdale may have had of reaching the top-six, but Hill isn’t giving up hope just yet and wants his players to show desire to play.
With Bury visiting fortress Spotland on Thursday night, Dale have a big chance to claim a vital three points, local bragging rights and put pressure on the teams around them, who all play on Good Friday.
“Players have got to come to me and say ‘I want to play because I want to give everything. ‘I’m not waiting until next season.'” said Hill. “But unfortunately at this time I’ve got too many waiters.
“I’ve supported a lot of players in renewing contracts. They’re playing for their futures, definitely, but I’m managing for my future. I don’t want a sterile environment, I want a winning environment.”
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