RUFC – Moore believes there was no belief today

Rotherham United Manager, Ronnie Moore was understandly disappointed after the two-one defeat at Don Valley to Port Vale this afternoon.

Speaking to MillersPlayer he said, ‘It doesn`t matter who you`re playing, you can`t play for fifty minutes and expect to win. We only came alive when we went two down and both those goals were down to unbelievable mistakes. It`s like it’s a relief when we go two down and then we can start to play but we need to start like that. And it’s that tempo what we`ve been talking about and we have to be at that tempo from the first minute, not the eightieth minute. The only time we played at a tempo was when the little lad came on (Abdulai Bell-Baggie). He wants to play – he showed no fear and got on it, took people on, played some great balls in and I was well pleased with him. We`ve got to have our players playing at seven out of ten because when they drop to either five or six we aren`t good enough. We have to be at the tempo like we were at Notts County but we have too many who can`t sustain that.

‘It concerns you because you just don`t know what turns them on. We aren`t hungry enough to get promoted. That third spot has been there all season. Nobody has grasped it. We`ve had opportunities and we`ve thrown them away and made it really hard for ourselves. Now, teams below us are getting results and the gaps closing. Not too long ago we were talking about second spot now we`re talking about third spot and if we`re not careful we will be talking about seventh spot.

‘It`s frustrating when you are playing with two wingers and look how many crosses went into the box. And when young Baggie`s got on there he`s put how many crosses into the box and great balls as well but who`s got on the end of them? Nobody. You`ve got to have anticipation, that`s something you can`t coach, it`s something you have to have. There were opportunities there for hungry strikers.

‘And how many strikes did the strikers have? We`re trying to walk things in. I don`t know what it is with them. They should take the shot, it might get a deflection or it might get a bump or a bounce on the pitch and I encourage them all the time to take shots. It was like we were the side who had nothing to play for today. If we`ve got to go down, we need to go down fighting, not just lay down and die like that.

‘We`ve got to show no fear and just go. What is there to show fear of? Fear of making a mistake so the crowd moan at you? That`s the way it is and if you can`t cope with that you`ve got no chance of promotion. And, I don`t blame the pitch, it`s nothing to do with the pitch, it`s the mental blockness that one or two people have.’

When asked if Abdulai Bell-Baggie was in contention for a start on Monday, Moore said, ‘He`s got to be. He`s the shining light. He comes on and is bright, goes by people, comes into mid-field and picks it up, crosses the ball and had a shot that whistled past the post. And, that`s what you want, desire, hunger, heart and belief, which I think we lacked for seventy minutes today.`