Dale are set a climbing challenge by boss Hill
KEITH Hill says his Rochdale side need to look beyond their relegation rivals and target a mid-table finish to give themselves the best chance of avoiding the drop.
Dale are second from bottom of League One with nine games left as they head into today’s home game with Shrewsbury.
“We’ve got to be looking at the teams that are mid-table and saying ‘this is where we need to be, what are we going to do and what do we have to do to catch up with one or two of the teams that are mid-table,” he said.
“We’re not looking at Oldham, MK Dons, Northampton. We’ve got to look beyond that and say ‘this is achievable with the games that we’ve got’ and let’s aim for it.”
OLDHAM boss Richie Wellens says the quick succession of fixtures over the Easter period shouldn’t be a problem for his side.
Oldham are back in action today for the first time in nearly two weeks when they head to the DW Stadium to take on promotion-chasing Wigan Athletic.
It’s the first of two League One games the Latics have this weekend, as they welcome Blackpool to Boundary Park on Easter Monday.
While the games are now coming thick and fast, Wellens says his team shouldn’t have any difficulty preparing for the matches.
He said: “The games on Friday and Monday are just like games on Saturday and Tuesday.
“People always make a big deal of the Easter weekend but the bigger picture for me is the fact April is going to be a huge month with all the postponements and international breaks,” he said.
“April will be when this squad kicks in, not necessarily this weekend, but it’ll be April when you start to see the squad players playing and we’re going to need them in the coming weeks.”
Bottom-of-thetable BURY make the trip to the Memorial Stadium to face Bristol Rovers.
The Shakers look destined for relegation with just eight games remaining. Bristol Rovers are in 11th position, but have failed to win any of their last three games.
In the Championship, BOLTON WANDERERS will try to move further clear of the relegation zone when they head to Elland Road to face Leeds United.