Rochdale boss Keith Hill admitted some of his players showed their lack of character after watching his side succumb to defeat against Morecambe on Saturday.
Goals from Chris McCready, Kevin Ellison and Andy Fleming condemned Rochdale to their second successive loss and left them with just one win since Hill returned to Spotland in January.
Hill insists changes were needed at the club in the long-term and feels he now understands the enormity of the challenge he faces to save Rochdale.
He said: “That game made it clear to me what we are facing here. The harsh reality has kicked in about the task ahead.
“When it gets to the nitty-gritty in football players reveal their true characters.
“We have talented players but some of them think they are better than they are and there is a lack of character here to win football matches.”
Hill believes there is a mammoth of a task ahead at Spotland, but insisted he is equal to it, and will ensure he finishes the job.
“The reality also is that over the last season-and-a-half the club has lost 43 games and we have got to change that and give it a football transfusion,” he said.
“I didn’t quite realise the enormity of the task ahead.
“I inherited the challenge and I want to do that and help the club progress.
“But that performance summed up what the fans have had to endure over the past 20 months and we need to change the DNA of the club.”
Hill believed his side failed to perform on the day, in comparison to their loss to Accrington Stanley on Tuesday and said some of his players’ performances were unacceptable.
He told BBC Radio Manchester: “There were no strong words after Tuesday because I think it took everybody by surprise. The performance wasn’t too bad there.
“We never got going today and the performance really disappointed me today.
“I’ve seen the true colours of one or two of my players today.
“You can’t afford to have two or three players who aren’t performing to a respectable standard and expect to be competitive against a team like Morecambe.”
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