Joe Thompson's header midway through the first half gave Dale the lead before Chris O'Grady wrapped up the points with a well-taken goal four minutes before the break.
Adkins said: "All credit to Rochdale in the first half, they worked very hard and I think we made one or two poor decisions and gave the ball away. I'm disappointed with the two goals because I felt we should have defended them better. But credit them, they were hungry.
"We changed things after going two down and I was pleased with the response from the players. After the break we created chances and if one of those had gone in, who knows?
"But we`ve got to put the ball in the back of the net and when Adam Lallana's shot came back off the post you start to think `this is not going to be our night`. We created loads of chances but we lost the game, so there can be no hiding from that fact.
"All we can do now is get ready for the next game, against Bristol Rovers. Our destiny is still in our hands, we're in the right position and we have to take care of business and get the lads ready for the next game."
Source: PA
Source: PA