A frustrated Keith Hill admitted his Rochdale players let the fans down in their comprehensive loss to Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium.
Second-half goals from Andy Whing, James Constable and Alfie Potter ended a six-game unbeaten streak for the Dale.
Hill was disappointed with his team’s display after their promising recent form but did point out that the players have come a long way since he took over in January.
“There was a target of losing only four of these last 18 games and we’ve now lost a fifth game out of 17, so I’m disappointed with that,” he said.
“We were a shadow of the way we have been, with and without the ball, especially without the ball. But I don’t want to be too critical of the players because we’ve come a long way.
“Yet one or two of them reverted to type. We’ve made one or two uncharacteristic mistakes. The players probably let themselves down and let the supporters down.”
Despite the loss, Hill refused to be overly-critical of his players as the season as the season draws to a close and insists he has plenty to be optimistic about.
“For me there’s no such thing as an end-of-season game but the players seemed to perform like they thought it was one,” he said.
“To me every game means something.
“I also know, having been a player, that it’s hard in games like this to put your body on the line when you might be out of contract and you could get a career-threatening injury by doing so.
“But overall I’m encouraged overall looking ahead to next season.”
Image courtesy of football4football, via YouTube, with thanks
For more on this story and many others, follow Mancunian Matters on Twitter and Facebook.
