Rosler happy to end year with a clean slate

Town are now unbeaten in their last 10 games having drew 0-0 with Bury on Boxing Day and a late 1-0 win over OIdham on New Year’s Eve.

And Rosler was pleased with his side’s mentality against Oldham as a late Josh Law own goal saw Town end 2016 eighth in the League One table as they prepare to face Shrewsbury for the fourth time this term at Greenhous Meadow tomorrow.

He said: “We expected that game to be fair at the moment we struggle a bit to make a game due to the injury problems that we have but we have a great mentality.

“We knew it was not a football exhibition to watch, both teams, so we knew they would come and match us up in the way they did and they did that effectively against Sheffield United (when Oldham lost 2-0 on Boxing Day) and Sheffield United are probably a little step ahead of us.

“But we did it well, we didn’t make any big mistakes, we was hanging in the game and the substitutions gave us a lift and decided the game in the right moments for us.

“The main thing is to be solid and we have now two home games, average two points, two clean sheets and that is a great ending to the year.

“(We have had) two difficult games, we were clear favourites in both games, knowing that we were not at our best but still getting four points out of that, two clean sheets is fantastic.

“The Shrewsbury game now it is very important that we recover in the best possible way and then hang in there because they have a day more than us and that is a massive advantage.

“But you never know we might get something there as well.”

Rosler was happy with his defenders performances with Conor McLaughlin moving into a back three alongside Nathan Pond and Cian Bolger.

And the ex-Manchester City striker praised Bolger for his performance against Oldham.

He said: “I think Cian that was his best game for a long time.

“We have had our discussions in the past two or three weeks he responded really well on Saturday.

“That was the Cian Bolger I know he can be - resolute. Winning everything in the air but also on the ground and played absolutely to the conditions.

“Don’t forget the conditions in the last game and also on Saturday have been very difficult for the players, especially for defenders when you never know the flight of the ball, all three of them, but especially Cian, were spotless they were very good.”

Strikers Chris Long and Devante Cole made an impact off the bench with Cole picking up his ninth assist of the campaign as he fizzed the ball across the six-yard box for unfortunate Oldham player Law to slide home.

And Rosler praised starting strikers David Ball and Ash Hunter and says all his forwards understand that he likes to shuffle the pack at times.

He said: “I think both (Cole and Long) did very well.

“I think Chris had started the previous three games, against Oldham he came on and that is how we try to do it because we want to play high energy and I think for us all four strikers have been on the pitch and doing in general really well for us.

“I need to shuffle the pack at times, some are getting two or three games in a row but then I freshen things up, I think the players now know that will happen and they know that it is not always based on performances it is based on opposition and how we think the game will pan out.”