Home
Little do Wanderers fans realise but a Bury-born former Manchester United defender has played a part in the club’s promotion push.
The words of a certain Gary Neville were pinned on the dressing room wall at the Macron before Christmas, as Phil Parkinson sought to keep the Whites focussed on their top two chase.
The Sky pundit’s quote, reflecting on Chelsea’s incredible durability in the Premier League this season, summed up what the manager wanted from his team in the second half of the campaign.
And though January results were a mixed bag – Parkinson thinks the different approaches needed to win the previous two games against Walsall and Rochdale show the message is slowly sinking in.
“A couple of months ago I put a quote up in the dressing room from Gary Neville about Chelsea,” Parkinson explained. “He said Chelsea can win all sorts of games, they can win a football game, they can win a scrappy game, they can win a passing game, or a set-piece game on a Tuesday night when the weather is bad. That’s why they will be champions.
“I said to the lads that we need to find a way to do the same – to win all of those kinds of football games.
“Saturday was a good football game, we played terrifically well for the first 45 minutes, maybe as well as we have all season, but the Rochdale game needed a different side to us.
“Credit to them, they came with a great gameplan and they made it very difficult for us.
“But I am very proud of the fact we got a result. It tells me a lot about those players.”
Parkinson admits the Rochdale game-plan disrupted his side on Tuesday night and though the Whites had two shots cleared off the line in the first half, they failed to make any more inroads into opposition territory until the last 10 minutes.
Mark Beevers’ scrambled effort lifted the mood of frustration around the stadium and means Wanderers head to Bradford on Saturday six points ahead of their fifth-placed hosts, with two games in hand.
Though full of praise for Rochdale’s belligerent approach, Parkinson feels the win was warranted.
He said: “At half time we told the lads they are making it scrappy, they are stepping on us, making it difficult. But we just had to deal with it. You have to be strong in both boxes and wait until the game opens up. Sometimes after 60-70 minutes it does open up and , well, it didn’t this time.
“We didn’t have moments of quality on the ball, we didn’t have that opportunity to put our foot on it and try and play football but when games are like that you have to come out on top.
“I have seen Rochdale do that so many times. They will hit diagonals and get runners running off the flicks. That is how they have been successful for a while now and they are good at it.
“We had a score to settle after the game at their place. We had warned them back then too.”
Rochdale boss, Bolton-born Keith Hill has tipped Wanderers for automatic promotion despite feeling hard done by the result.
“Bolton are a good side and, for me, they’re a tip for the top two. Bolton and Sheffield United should really be in the top two and I expect them both to be, but we were only narrowly beaten,” he said.
Beevers’ 83rd minute winner was given by referee Christopher Kavanagh despite claims from the Rochdale defenders that it had not crossed the line before being hooked away.
Hill was none the wiser after watching it back on a replay.
“I’m not too sure if it was a goal – I’m not convinced,” he said. “I can’t decide if it was over the line or not and we’re still in shock. We’ve slowed it down and there’s still as debate as to whether it has crossed the line or not.”
Source
The words of a certain Gary Neville were pinned on the dressing room wall at the Macron before Christmas, as Phil Parkinson sought to keep the Whites focussed on their top two chase.
The Sky pundit’s quote, reflecting on Chelsea’s incredible durability in the Premier League this season, summed up what the manager wanted from his team in the second half of the campaign.
And though January results were a mixed bag – Parkinson thinks the different approaches needed to win the previous two games against Walsall and Rochdale show the message is slowly sinking in.
“A couple of months ago I put a quote up in the dressing room from Gary Neville about Chelsea,” Parkinson explained. “He said Chelsea can win all sorts of games, they can win a football game, they can win a scrappy game, they can win a passing game, or a set-piece game on a Tuesday night when the weather is bad. That’s why they will be champions.
“I said to the lads that we need to find a way to do the same – to win all of those kinds of football games.
“Saturday was a good football game, we played terrifically well for the first 45 minutes, maybe as well as we have all season, but the Rochdale game needed a different side to us.
“Credit to them, they came with a great gameplan and they made it very difficult for us.
“But I am very proud of the fact we got a result. It tells me a lot about those players.”
Parkinson admits the Rochdale game-plan disrupted his side on Tuesday night and though the Whites had two shots cleared off the line in the first half, they failed to make any more inroads into opposition territory until the last 10 minutes.
Mark Beevers’ scrambled effort lifted the mood of frustration around the stadium and means Wanderers head to Bradford on Saturday six points ahead of their fifth-placed hosts, with two games in hand.
Though full of praise for Rochdale’s belligerent approach, Parkinson feels the win was warranted.
He said: “At half time we told the lads they are making it scrappy, they are stepping on us, making it difficult. But we just had to deal with it. You have to be strong in both boxes and wait until the game opens up. Sometimes after 60-70 minutes it does open up and , well, it didn’t this time.
“We didn’t have moments of quality on the ball, we didn’t have that opportunity to put our foot on it and try and play football but when games are like that you have to come out on top.
“I have seen Rochdale do that so many times. They will hit diagonals and get runners running off the flicks. That is how they have been successful for a while now and they are good at it.
“We had a score to settle after the game at their place. We had warned them back then too.”
Rochdale boss, Bolton-born Keith Hill has tipped Wanderers for automatic promotion despite feeling hard done by the result.
“Bolton are a good side and, for me, they’re a tip for the top two. Bolton and Sheffield United should really be in the top two and I expect them both to be, but we were only narrowly beaten,” he said.
Beevers’ 83rd minute winner was given by referee Christopher Kavanagh despite claims from the Rochdale defenders that it had not crossed the line before being hooked away.
Hill was none the wiser after watching it back on a replay.
“I’m not too sure if it was a goal – I’m not convinced,” he said. “I can’t decide if it was over the line or not and we’re still in shock. We’ve slowed it down and there’s still as debate as to whether it has crossed the line or not.”
Source
