Danny Schofield is seeking to ensure his squad has the right mentality for their final game of 2022 at the Eco-Power Stadium.
Rovers welcome Rochdale following the Boxing Day defeat at Tranmere Rovers. And Schofield believes mental preparation is as important as physical with matches in quick succession.
Schofield on preparations in such a short period between games:
“We always look at the squad first and foremost in regards to who can impact the next game the most.
“The players that played on Boxing Day have had a recovery session and will be really light building up to the Rochdale game.
“The next game is the most important whether it’s on the back of a defeat or a win. We’ll prepare as we always do, by keeping the mentality as positive as possible with the players to make an impact against Rochdale.
“We go through the schedule and work collaboratively with the sports scientist in terms of loading, how much recovery time they need and the numbers they need to hit physically. I feel as though we’re pretty good at that.”
On lifting the players following a defeat:
“It’s about reflecting quickly on the Tranmere game, moving on quickly to Rochdale and preparing for that. It’s good for us that we’ve got that game really quickly.
“The lads are disappointed after the defeat against Tranmere. We’ve spoken about it the day afterwards and we’ve moved on.
“We’ll have a look at the group. I’ll sit down with the coaching staff and see where we maybe need to make some changes.”
On recent fan frustrations:
“I can understand the fans totally after a disappointing performance. I’m there with them - I feel that frustration as well.
“They are free to air their frustrations. We need to try to turn that around with our performances and get the fans back on board, driving the club forward.
“The fans respond to good performances and players giving everything fundamentally. The only way to get supporters back and being proud of the football club is with performances on the pitch.”
On the challenge of Rochdale:
“Every game poses difficulties for us and we have to try to work out how we’re going to beat the opponent. Whether it’s a team down at the bottom or at the top, it’s just as difficult.
“Rochdale are a competitive team like anyone else. They’re not in a position where they want to be but we know exactly what we’ll face. They have threats, they have some good individual players and we need to be a lot better than we were against Tranmere. Hopefully we can put that right.”
On Reo Griffiths’ return to action:
“He’s had a few niggling injuries and hasn’t really trained consistently since I’ve been in the building. Now he’s back on the pitch more regularly he’s shown more consistency in his performances in training.
“I feel physically he needs to improve more and that is something he’s going to have to focus on but he was deserving of his place on the bench.”
*****
Can't join us for the next game? Keep up with the action with iFollow Rovers
