Keith Hill says he has faith in his strikers after a third straight League One 0-0 against local rivals Oldham Athletic on Saturday.
In a game of few chances, Dale came closest through Ian Henderson and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing but Oldham held firm.
Hill still isn’t too concerned that the goals have dried up for his team and focussed on the defensive improvements.
“I’m sure that our strikers will catch up on the goal scoring exploits,” he said.
“Strikers make mistakes and you don’t lose points but if defenders make mistakes then you lose points.
“If you consider Tuesday as well and probably against Bury last Saturday, then I think our strikers are making mistakes in front of goal, which can change the outcome of the game.
“But in the grand scheme of things, nil-nil, it’s another point and we’ve kept a clean sheet.
“The defensive problems were individual mistakes but it steeps into the spirit and the confidence of the team.
“One thing we have done is defended absolutely superbly for the majority of the season.
“A lot has been affected over the course of the last four or five weeks and we’re trying to re-build again. I think it has been evident in the last three games with the clean sheets.”
As for the game itself, Hill felt a draw was probably fair and also had a word for the officials.
“We didn’t get the same energy from Tuesday night that I wanted in the passing,” he said.
“But again, we were playing against different opposition, who were doing things differently to Coventry and one or two of our players couldn’t work it out.
“We had one unbelievable outstanding chance in the first half.
“That’s where I’m trying to encourage and promote players to gain experience to see things and work them out as quickly they possibly can.
“I think the game was destroyed by an over-active whistle. There wasn’t an awful lot in the game.”
Dale fans will be hoping their side can maintain their solid defensive displays whilst breaking their goal scoring duck next Saturday when they make the long trip to Southend United.
Image courtesy of Official Rochdale AFC via YouTube, with thanks.
