We'll be competitive, says Hill

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Keith Hill

Rochdale welcome Newport County to Spotland and Manager Keith Hill says his side are prepared for the visit of The Exiles.

Dale responded magnificently to the defeat last week at Portsmouth with a 1-0 win over Port Vale on Tuesday night, and Hill says he was pleased with the response.

He said: “I’m really pleased [with the response against Port Vale], but I wasn’t too disappointed with Portsmouth because it was an education. It was part of our learning as a team and as a football club as we try to create an identity. I want supporters and everybody who believes in what we’re trying to achieve to endorse how we’re trying to do it and the learning curve that we’re all on.

“Are we disappointed at losing games? Yes. But there’s a massive education in there for me as well. I believe I probably picked the wrong side against Portsmouth, but can I and will I recover? Of course I can. But there’s no point in just supporting us when we’re hot because we’re not going to be hot all season.”

Hill made five changes for the mid-week visit to Port Vale, while George Donnelly is once again available for selection after serving a three match ban.

After a positive display on Tuesday, it’s options aplenty for Hill ahead of the visit of Newport County, but he says that he doesn’t have a selection headache.

“It’s encouraging that we have that competition for places because no-one can rest on their laurels too much," said Hill. "I think we got our game plan wrong against Portsmouth, but I don’t think that’s too much down to the players or a lack of effort.

“It’s good to have George back, there’s no question about that. The players who played the other night were superb and there are other players who want to play and players who deserve to play. But I haven’t got a selection headache because I believe in and trust in the players with respect to the strategies that we want to employ against Newport on Saturday.”

And Hill says the players are well prepared for the game: “There’s no expectations, we just know what we want to do, and we won’t under any circumstances underestimate or overestimate any opposition in this league. We’ll be competitive, we know what we need to do, we know what we’re good at and hopefully that will bear dividends.”