Dale must respond in a positive manner to Saturday’s defeat at home to Gillingham, says Head Coach Ian Watson.
His side travel to an unbeaten Walsall side in Sky Bet League Two this Saturday.
Watson praised the players’ attitude in training this week and says they have to stick together.
“We’ve got an unbelievable group,” he commented.
“We’re all so close and together in this. The boys were hurting a lot after Saturday; we all were. You have to feel that pain, because there’s a lot more pain than good moments in football.
“Ultimately, you have to respond to it, because your career will be defined by how you come back in the next day and work to be the best you can.
“We’ll never get bogged down by anything external. We stick together, we learn from the game, and we look to improve every single day. Their attitude has been amazing; they’re so together, and we need to get that momentum going, and I’m sure the feeling around the place will turn as well.
“The reason that I’m here is because of the conversations that I had [with the Board of Directors]. We know it’s a project that we have to work on.
“No one was under any illusions that it was going to be easy coming into a new league, trying to put a new team together. We’re five games into a long-term project.
“For me, I need to focus on helping the boys and the Football Club as much as I can. I can’t listen to the noise, whether it’s good or bad. Anything external can’t change my mind in terms of how I’m going to work.
“I’m here because the Football Club believed in me and I didn’t expect that to change in five games.”
Unfortunately, Dale won’t be welcoming anybody back from the lengthy injury list in time for this Saturday’s game, although the Head Coach confirmed that Laurence Maguire and Cian Hayes are getting closer.
“Laurence and Cian have been back in training for the last ten days or so, so we’ve got to build them up.
“There’s nothing new in terms of availability. We’re still working with the boys and we’ll hopefully have a few more to pick from soon, but at the minute we’re as it was.
“Sam Beckwith’s getting closer, day-by-day, he’s recovering well. He’s just had an injection this morning to try and speed the process up, but the guys are happy with where he’s at.
“It’s not something where he’s going to be back really soon, but we’ve just got to make sure the injury has settled a bit because it’s been a tough one for him, and he had a big injury last year. So we have to make sure that when he comes back, he’s available for the long-term.”
Walsall have won two and drawn three in their opening five games this season, with Head Coach Lee Grant being nominated for the league’s Manager of the Month award.
“They’ve started the season amazingly. They’ve had a strong League Two side for a while now and have changed the style slightly with the new manager going in, who’s an excellent coach.
“At this moment it looks like a big challenge, but we see it as a big opportunity to go to a team that’s flying and put our stamp on it.
“We want to show everyone how much we’re going to work and run for the badge.”
Watch the full interview with Watson via our official YouTube channel below.
