Jim McNulty reacts after starting interim Rochdale reign with vital victory

Posted Sunday, April 02, 2023 by PA

Rochdale interim manager Jim McNulty was pleased with a vital victory after his side fought their way to a 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon in his first game in charge.

McNulty’s side struggled to create opportunities but converted their best opening as Danny Lloyd’s strike from the edge of the box earned them three points.

Victory sees rock-bottom Rochdale claw up some ground in the relegation battle, and McNulty – who only stepped in this week after Jim Bentley’s sacking – was pleased to cap off a difficult week with three points.

He said: “It’s been a tough week for the players and a tough week for the fans. We had a challenging start to the week, and we’ve got players injured of course.

“It was always going to be a difficult game. Wimbledon had their tails up after some recent victories. Johnnie (Jackson) was saying before the game that he thought they were coming in off their best win of the season.

“We only had two or three days to work on something. We committed to a process, there was a game plan there. It’s been a bit different to what we’ve been doing, but it’s something I thought could give our players the platform to show their best versions of themselves.

“I thought it would allow us to get as many of our different attackers into the right spaces and places for them to make Wimbledon vulnerable. We got a victory today and I’m really happy with that.”

Defeat for Wimbledon followed on from an encouraging 2-0 win over Walsall in midweek, leaving boss Johnnie Jackson frustrated at the inability to back that up.

“I thought it was a below-par performance from us today, especially how well we played a few days ago here,” said Jackson.

“It was the same group of players, same team that started and after their performance the other night I felt that they deserved that opportunity. We haven’t backed it up well today.

“All the good things we did the other night were sadly lacking. That for me is a frustration as I’ve seen what this team is capable of but we haven’t been able to produce again today.

“Losing always hurts, but it’s just frustrating after how well we played not that long ago. To have such different performances, it’s tough to take.

“They scored a goal, but barely had a shot beyond that. We had the majority of the chances but we lacked quality in those moments, and a little bit of bravery.”