Hill Spurred on by dream game
KEITH Hill admits crossing swords with Mauricio Poccettino and his multi-million pound Spurs squad is a dream come true.
The Rochdale boss guided the club into the last 16 of the Emirates FA Cup this week with a 1-0 win in the fourth round replay against Championship opponents Millwall.
Ian Henderson’s winner sent Dale into the fifth round of the competition for only the third time in the club’s history, with the mouthwatering prospect of Premier League giants Tottenham heading to the Crown Oil Arena in 10 days.
It promises to be a welcome boost to the coffers at a club operating with one of the smallest budgets in the Football League. But it’s the idea of Poccettino, Harry Kane, Dele Alli and co – who beat Newport in their replay at Wembley last night – heading to town that gets Hill’s pulse racing.
“The finance is the stand-out reward – it’s a chance to dream and a chance to play against Premier League opposition,” said Hill.
“After the game my head was saying let’s play Newport in the fifth round, but my heart was saying let’s play Tottenham. Are we likely to beat Tottenham? We would have to play at our very, very best and they would have to have an off day for us to have any chance. But that’s the dream.”
Hill was delighted to see off the Lions on a sandy Crown Oil Arena surface, with Millwall boss Neil Harris admitting the League One strugglers deserved the victory over the two games.
“It was a good performance and a well deserved win and Neil Harris said as much,” said Hill. “It was a special night for the club and for me as a manager to take this club into the fifth round of the competition.
“The players made excellent decisions on the pitch. I thought it was a good performance and a good victory.
“It was nice of Neil to say ‘fair play’ and it’s good when managers can say that.
“It’s a proud moment to take a club into the fifth round.”
Harris was critical of the Crown Oil Arena pitch, which underwent a ‘drill and fill’ procedure in the days leading up to the game.
The operation involved holes being dug every few yards and filled with kiln-dried sand to soak up the excess surface water. It made for difficult conditions, but Hill was full of praise for the volunteers who gave up their time to ensure the tie went ahead.
“Those supporters who helped out deserved that performance from the players,” he said.
“The work that has gone in to ensuring this game went ahead has been tremendous. A lot of people have been working through the night and have continued preparing the pitch right up until kick-off, so fair credit to them.”