The calendar just flipped over to October, but the Saskatchewan Roughriders are already in playoff mode as they get set for a crucial matchup against the Hamilton Ti-Cats on Friday.
Head coach Craig Dickenson joined Michael Ball on the SportsCage on Monday for his weekly appearance.
Looking back at the Riders recent loss in Winnipeg, Dickenson believes the problem for the green and white was a lack of execution, something that has troubled the team at various points throughout the season.
“It comes down to one guy here or one guy there the reality is that what makes football really such a beautiful game it’s truly a team game where you need all 12 guys on the same page, you need them all working together. ”
The head coach also added the lack of execution is what separates the elite in football.
“In some ways we’ve failed on doing the little things well and that’s the difference between good teams and really average teams.”
It has been a tough stretch recently for the green and white as they gone 2-8 over their last ten games. Despite the rough luck in the win loss column, the Riders head coach is trying to keep the right frame of mind as he prepares to lead his squad down the last three games of the season.
“I feel if you the best that you can and you give it everything that you can, you can sleep well at night. There’s a peace of mind of doing that. I’m not worried about my future, I certainly want to be here as long as I can, for as long as Rider nation wants me and for as long as this organization thinks I can do a good job and lead the team forward. ”
Dickenson added that with so much of his focus on the upcoming game, he has no time to worry about the outside noise.
“I’m not a what if, sort of a guy, I’m more what’s in front of me, and what do we need to do to get better. ”
Dickenson isn’t guaranteeing a victory on Friday, but he’ll guarantee that the green and white will be prepared for the biggest game of the season.
“I’m in the business of making predictions but I’m in the business of coaching football and getting our guys ready so I’m not going to predict if we’re going to win or not on Friday, but I will say this is, we’ll be prepared and we’ll be ready to go.”
As they finish off the regular season, things aren’t looking for rosy for the Riders, but the head coach believes if his team can play a solid full game this week, it could possibly springboard them to further success this season.
“The first thing we have to do, we have to put it together for 60 minutes, we’ve had moments in all three phases where we played well and then we’ve had a letdown, I think we have to find a way to play one good game and really play to our potential, I think if we do that and play well, if we do that I think it will give us a lot of confidence, lot of mojo to realize hey, if we put it together, we’re a pretty good football team, I think we’ve had glimpses of it, a half here, a half there, I think if we put it together for one full game, it will do wonders for our football team.”
Friday’s game in Hamilton can be heard on 620 CKRM with the opening kickoff at 5:30.
