Dale upbeat for vital awaydays
ROCHDALE are on the road twice in the next four days with crunch games at Fleetwood and Bolton.
And Keith Hill believes the clean sheet against Bristol Rovers last weekend means the squad head off on their travels with renewed confidence.
Before the Bristol game Dale, having lost the services of several players key to the fine run of form through November and December, lost back to back games 4-0 at home.
Hill said arresting that trend was vital ahead of the fixtures against teams placed third and fourth in the division.
“You have got to change the mentality of the players because confidence is king, clean sheets are king,” he said.
“We can build now from the process of getting a clean sheet and it was important because we had been making mistakes which had led to goals. If I go back as far as Southend away, where we should have secured points, and then we would have only been looking at one league defeat.
“But the Oxford game was a real smack in the teeth with respect to the mistakes we made individually.
“The planning we do and the processes that we go through are very successful, but we can’t afford to make mistakes. So if I take away the FA Cup game, it’s about the processes we’re going through to stabilise the team and the confidence of keeping a clean sheet.”
And Hill’s men will enjoy playing on superior surfaces at Highbury and the Macron following the deterioration of their own pitch at the Crown Oil Arena.
“What I do know is that if I go to Fleetwood and I go to Bolton, the pitches are extremely good,” he said. “There is no way that Phil Parkinson is going to kick up the pitch and not manicure it and there’s no way Fleetwood would do that because they are a passing side under Uwe Rosler.
“We will enjoy playing there and it will give us a sense of ‘wow, we’re playing on a good pitch today’.”
Youngster Joel Taylor, who signed on loan from Stoke recently, will be in the reckoning for today’s clash at Fleetwood and Hill believes his debut against Bristol last Saturday was an invaluable experience for the 20-year-old.
“Bedding these young players in is a process that will last not just two or three games or two or three weeks, it’s over the course of their time at the club,” said Hill. “They are always learning, I’m always demanding.
“It’s about winning football and that’s what I explained to Joel Taylor – you go out there and it’s real men’s football, it’s winning football.
“The opposition is looking for weaknesses. Now, if they see you not closing down and they see they can hit you on a diagonal, they are going exploit that and I can’t afford for a player to be learning while we are losing games.
“Joel will catch up because he is an intelligent player, he’s very quick and last weekend was his first taste of the type of football that we play. He will respond well.”
Dale travel to Bolton on Tuesday (8pm kick off ) and tickets are on sale now at the RAFC Ticket Office.The match is currently all ticket. The option to pay on the night will only be confirmed by the Trotters two days before.
Tickets will remain on sale until midday on the day of the game.
Prices are: Adults £26; Over 65s/ U23s £18; Under 18 £10’ Under 12 £7; Armed forces personnel £10
Wheelchair and ambulant disabled – Price as above with carer free of charge.
Dale fans will be housed in the South Stand Lower Tier.
Meanwhile, Dale’s League One fixture against Port Vale on Tuesday 28th February is a ‘bring a friend’ designated game.
Season ticket holders who purchased during the Special Promotion Period received a selection of ‘bring a friend’ vouchers in the back of their book, and any outstanding vouchers will be accepted for the Vale encounter.
The vouchers are: Bring a friend for £10, Bring a friend for £5 or bring a 16 or under for free.
Instead of giving your voucher to a Dale fan who usually attends games, why not take someone who wouldn’t normally come to the Crown Oil Arena on a matchday?
To redeem the voucher, all you need to do is take the voucher to the RAFC Ticket Office, either in the run up to the game, or on the day of the fixture. These cannot be redeemed at the turnstile. Vouchers cannot be redeemed online.
There is a section on the front of each voucher for details including an email address. This section should be filled in with the name of the supporter you are bringing to the match.