Five-year deal for Hill at Dale

ROCHDALE manager Keith Hill has committed his long-term future to the club by signing a five-year deal at the Crown Oil Arena.

The 48-year-old’s new contract keeps him at the club until the summer of 2022.

“This is fantastic news for all concerned,” said chairman Chris Dunphy.

“Keith is without doubt the most successful manager in the club’s history and it was important to us as a board of directors that we secured his long-term future at the club.

“This five-year deal is the longest contract ever issued by Rochdale Football Club and it is testament to what he has achieved.

“Keith has brought nothing but success to the club and we’ve continued to go from strength to strength during his time here.

“He has created an identity that we can all be proud of and has steadily improved our league status year on year, while developing his proven policy of bringing through quality young players.

“Having Keith at the helm provides us with stability and continuity, and these are key components to any successful team.”

Stability was an important factor in Hill signing the new contract.

“I’ve created stability at this football club and I wanted that with respect to my contract,” he said.

“I was aware that I only had a year left on my current deal and I was keen to commit my long-term future to Rochdale.

“I feel happy and I feel comfortable working for the chairman, the board of directors and Russ Green (chief executive), who have I struck up a good working relationship with since he joined the club last summer.

“We’ve been very successful as partnership and I didn’t see any reason why that partnership shouldn’t continue. I’m proud to be manager of this great football club.”

Hill’s commitment followed news of Joe Rafferty signing a new deal. The right-back enjoyed a terrific season with Dale and had attracted interest from other clubs – but insisted he was happy to stay and push for success under Hill.

“The staff, the players and the fans have all treated me well since I came to the club and I’ve loved every minute of my time here,” said Rafferty, who has been at Rochdale since 2012.

“I wanted to stay because I’m happy here and I want to achieve more with this club. We’ve achieved something different every year that I’ve been here and I want to keep on achieving.

“There’s a continuity of players from season to season and most of the team has stuck together since I’ve been here, and I think that’s why we’ve been successful over the years.”

Rafferty was recently named Supporters Player of the Season and said that award was particularly special to him.

“To get recognised by the fans meant a lot to me,” he said.

“They’re the ones who come to the games and watch you, and they pay a lot of money to do that. To get recognition from them is a big thing for me.

“We had a good season and were unfortunate to just miss out on the playoffs, so hopefully we can go one better next year.

“I’ll be making sure I stay in shape over the summer so when I come back I’m ready to work hard and go again.”

Meanwhile, Matt Lund has joined Championship club Burton while youngster Matty Gillam has signed his first professional contract at Dale.

‘I’ve created stability at this club and I wanted that with respect to my contract’