Keith Hill can see progress at Scunthorpe despite another draw

Posted Sunday, December 12, 2021 by PA

Satisfied Scunthorpe boss Keith Hill feels he can see improvement in his side and believes a win is not too far away after a 0-0 draw at Hartlepool.

The Iron have only two victories to their name this season and Hill is winless in six games since taking charge.

But this was a fourth draw in a row for Hill, who said: “I’m pleased with a clean sheet and how we are growing as a team – I see change and a real identify starting to form. I’m reasonably happy and pleased for the players who showed a bit more belief.

“The effort was there, the honesty was there and so too core values what supporters want. If they make mistakes working hard I will forgive them, but I expect my team to be the hardest working team in whatever league we are in.

“We tried to play football in severe conditions and if we continue to make this type of progress we will start to win games.”

The Iron were well drilled and made life tough for Pools, who went into the game on the back of successive wins under new boss Graeme Lee.

They needed a couple of smart saves from goalkeeper Rory Watson and were fortunate not to concede a late penalty when Mark Cullen was bundled over in the area.

But Hill added: “I’m seeing patterns developing and players building relationships. The jigsaw is coming together I believe.

“I want to train and play a different way to previous and I am seeing an improvement.

“We could have had it at the end, but we can’t take anything away from the opposition who are in good shape. We nullified their threat, but they had one or two close moments and we looked reasonably comfortable defensively.

“We lack a bit of a cutting edge and we are getting into a position where we can go on and win that type of game.”

Pools extended their unbeaten run to four matches in all competitions.

Boss Lee admitted: “The overriding feeling is you want to win the game and if you don’t perform how you want to, it means it’s disappointing.

“They made it hard to play against, it worked for them and not for us and we have to work out on the pitch. The wing-backs were keen to get out but we didn’t use it enough.

“We need a bit more trust in ourselves, drag them out and use the ball under pressure. It took us a while to get going and it took us too long to use the ball. When we popped it around a bit we felt we could step up. The half-time break stopped us.

“But we’ve had a win and a draw in a week after five defeats. We dug in, lacked a bit of quality at times and they are all working for each other. We are doing the right things and it’s about it all coming together at the right time.”