Keith Hill ‘trying to build something’ as Scunthorpe slump to bottom

Posted Sunday, January 30, 2022 by PA

Keith Hill has called for patience despite Scunthorpe slipping to the bottom of the table after a 1-0 loss to Port Vale.

The travelling Iron, who have now suffered six consecutive defeats, struggled to assert themselves in a fixture hampered by blustery conditions.

Kian Harratt struck the post as the home side gradually found their rhythm and the Valiants’ persistence eventually paid off when Nathan Smith bundled in the winner deep into the second half.

Tyrese Sinclair spurned a glorious opportunity to snatch a late leveller when he fired a tame effort goalwards as the visitors were condemned to another defeat.

Iron boss Hill said: “I’m trying to build something; I’m bringing Keith Hill players in and we have to give them time.

“It was a difficult game, some of our new players looked a little bit tired but the players have to do the basic jobs better.

“You get some of them in January dipping their toe into what is a real battle and I can’t wait for the window to close now. Once it does, everybody is then fighting for their football futures instead of looking.

“Some of them are looking for an escape exit because of Ryan Loft leaving (for Bristol Rovers), so it’s important that the door closes very quickly and then the players will have to focus on the games.

“What I want as a manager is to bring my own players to the club and build my own team as a reflection of me. As a consequence of that, players who have options will be allowed to leave.”

Victory for Vale marks the end of a five-match winless run and keeps their promotion-chasing ambitions alive.

Boss Darrell Clarke said: “It was never going to be free-flowing football on a bobbly, dead pitch like we’ve got, but it’s about winning. There’s always going to be frustration because everybody turns up and thinks it’s going to be an easy three points, but I’ve never managed an easy three points.

“They were fighting hard, scrapping, wanted to kill the tie and wanted to waste a lot of time, so we had to dig in. It wasn’t a pretty performance and we need to get better, but I’m pleased with the effort, the commitment and the clean sheet and thought we deserved the three points.

“The last 8-10 weeks have been really testing with the long-term injuries and the changes we’ve been forced into, so the lads are adjusting to a fairly new side again which is unfortunate, but hopefully the clean sheet last week and then again this week is putting us in the right direction.”