Keith Hill insists his players are giving everything they can after their 1-0 FA Cup second round defeat at home to Bury on Sunday.
Dale fell behind to an early Danny Rose goal which was enough to see David Flitcroft get one over on his old boss.
The defeat means Rochdale won’t be in the hat for the third round for the first time in three seasons but Hill was quick to defend his side’s efforts.
“I’m satisfied that the players have given everything they possibly could,” Hill said.
“Apart from the result I’m reasonably happy going home tonight.”
“They probably could have done more in both boxes, especially from Chris Hussey’s set-plays but in general I thought we were reasonably good.
“I thought we had to be a little bit more clinical in their box – we’ve made the ‘keeper save and we’ve had one or two near opportunities, but we huffed and puffed and didn’t get it quite right in their penalty box.”
“I’m disappointed but I think it’s near on perfect from their perspective.
“What more can we do except maybe get Rosey in handcuffs. It’s a difficult one – they know that the quality is coming in and we do.
“We prepared for it, but for me, it was the perfect cross and I won’t go into too much detail with the players. It’s disappointing but it’s a good goal from their perspective.
“I think it was very, very close as a contest. I think we definitely shaded possession, there’s no question about it, but the end is result is that we’re out of the cup.
“I’m not disappointed with the manner in which we lost but I’m obviously disappointed with losing.”
Dale fans will be hoping their side can bounce back from their cup disappointment on Saturday when they travel to Swindon Town.
Image courtesy of Rochdale via YouTube, with thanks.
