Dale picked up their first points of the season with a convincing 3-0 win, and the Head Coach praised the bravery of the side.
“I was really pleased with the performance,” commented Watson.
“That’s what we asked the boys for. We were so anxious to get a win that I think we went away from what we are. Tonight, we stripped it back, and we wanted to go back to the process and what we want to look like.
“The result will come if we play with loads of bravery, loads of courage, and it looks like us. When they play like that, it’s really hard for the opposition. We played through them and created some really good attacking moments from deep, which is exactly what we want to do.
“The energy, fight and the duels were outstanding, and you have to have that at this level.
“How we want to look is really important to me, and I think that is the best way of winning football games. Up to now, we haven’t seen consistent moments where we can keep the ball and pin the opposition in, but tonight I thought we saw a lot of that.
“It’s a really good night and one we want to build on.”
It was also Dale’s first clean sheet of the season, with goalkeeper Nils Ramming making some important saves when called upon.
“I’m over the moon [with the clean sheet]. Nils made an unbelievable save with his left leg. He’s a very good goalkeeper and is still very young. He fully believes in what we’re trying to do and is very brave with it.
“We ask him to do a lot, but he fully believes in it. He’s amazing at keeping the ball out of the back of the net as well.
“I’m really pleased for the boys and the supporters. Tonight is a great feeling that we haven’t had a lot of.”
Watch the full interview via our official YouTube channel below.
