Dale out to hit on new formula
KEITH Hill will be hoping to unveil Rochdale’s latest winning formula when his side entertain Bristol Rovers at the Crown Oil Arena this afternoon.
Having lost several key players to injury, including Joe Bunney, Steven Davies, Calvin Andrew, Matt Lund, Oliver Rathbone and Josh Lillis in recent weeks, Hill has been forced to shuffle his pack in the last couple of matches.
His side were beaten 4-0 against Oxford a couple of weeks ago, ending a 10-game winning streak on their home turf, while Championship side Huddersfield won by the same scoreline in last Saturday’s FA Cup fourth round clash.
Hill is calling on his players to cut out the mistakes which have undermined their performances in the last three matches – or face the prospect of being replaced.
“Sometimes you can try and ignore mistakes because you don’t want to put too much pressure onto players – but it is becoming obvious now, in the last three games, that we have been making elementary errors,” said Hill.
“If those players don’t learn the valuable lessons then you have to replace the players.
“We’re really finding it difficult to manage the injury situation, we don’t know what’s next or around the corner. But we’ve got a very healthy 45 points on the board with nineteen games to play.
“I’m really pleased with what I am seeing as we try to develop back to that winning formula that we’re searching for and trying to plan for in the remaining games.”
The Dale chief strengthened his options this week by signing Cardiff City goalkeeper Ben Wilson, who joined fellow new arrivals Joel Taylor from Stoke and Mark Kitching from Middlesbrough.
Kitching, who arrived at the club on loan last week, has agreed to join permanently and signed an 18-month deal.
He told the club’s official website: “It has been a whirlwind few days for me. I only found out a few days ago that I’d be joining the club on loan, so I was buzzing when I found out they wanted me to sign a permanent deal. As soon as I heard the news, my mind was set.”
The 21-year-old has progressed through the Boro Academy since the age of eight and while it was a wrench to leave the Riverside, he felt the time was right.
“I’m sad to be leaving Middlesbrough after such a long time but it’s something I need to do to progress my footballing carer.
“It’s the right time to move on and I think I’ve joined a really good club that’ll help me progress in the next stage of my career, so I’m really happy.”
Meanwhile, two youngsters departed the club during the window.
Defender Scott Tanser, whose progress in the first team had slowed significantly after showing much promise in the 2014/15 campaign, joined Port Vale after having his contract cancelled by mutual consent.
James Hooper, who made a couple of first team appearances in 2015, also had his contract terminated by mutual consent.
Sanmi Odelusi’s loan spell from Wigan also ran its course in January.
Meanwhile, a new date has been set for Rochdale’s League One fixture away at AFC Wimbledon. The game will be played at Kingsmeadow on Tuesday 28th March at 7.45pm.
‘If players don’t learn the valuable lessons then you have to replace the players’