Dale are raring to go at Rovers
HIS first summer as a football manager has gone swimmingly – now Brian BarryMurphy can’t wait to dip his toes back into the relentlessly choppy waters of League One.
Rochdale kick off the campaign with a trip to newly promoted Tranmere Rovers today and one week ahead of the town’s Feelgood Festival, there’s already a buzz about Dale.
BBM has been pleased with the players’ response to his pre-season programme and has been delighted with a recruitment drive which has seen the highly-rated exBury defender Eoghan O’Connell and experienced craftsman Jimmy Ryan arrive at the club, among others.
It’s been an enjoyable
few months for BBM, even placing too much emphasis of teams who are big by and Shrewsbury So, apart from the obvious if it’s not been a million on the opening game. name and big by nature come to mind, clubs who return of three points miles away from what he’s “I’ve been in the players’ investing well, but even have recruited players from as many games as used to. shoes fairly recently so I teams below that level who we know very well – possible, what will BBM
“The stuff on the training know what it’s like – you have spent money, so it is we just wouldn’t be in a be looking for in his players ground has been can’t wait to get round to going to be as challenging position where we could during the opening pretty much the same, I the first game and there is as ever for us. But we still compete with them in weeks of the campaign? love being out on the pitch always that sense that the believe that within our terms of offering contracts. “I’m looking for our every morning with the first game is like a mini FA dressing room we have a Ethan Ebanks-Landell, players to represent what guys, and the stuff Cup final because you’ve group of talented, ambitious for instance, was a we worked on throughout throughout the summer, been looking forward to it players. great player for us but the close season and all the transfer dealings, I for so long,” he said. “I think “So we won’t go into any with all due respect we towards the end of last was involved in when it’s important that you game thinking we don’t were nowhere near even season, I want them to Keith (Hill) was here anyway don’t feel like the season have the right to be there, being able to speak to him improve on that,” he said. – I was responsible for starts and ends there. We we can be as competitive when you consider the “We have a definite way a lot of the stuff that went went to Burton last year as we’ve always been. terms he was offered at we want to play and within right...and a lot of the stuff and we were electric for 45 “There will be teams virtually Shrewsbury. that there are tweaks and that went wrong! He’d kill minutes but ended up every week who “We are where we are gameplans we will come me if I didn’t say so! hanging on and then lost have much bigger squads and we know exactly what up with for certain opponents.
“I’m very confident and our next couple of games. than us and much bigger the landscape is in terms But we want to represent the players I’ve brought in It’s imperative that we try to names, but the challenge of that, but we have what we are all are players I have been remain balanced and that for us is to remain true to recruited in a positive about and give the supporters studying over a long period will stand us in good stead ourselves, be competitive manner and some of the something to get of time and I’ll continue to as we go beyond the start of and stay on the front foot players we’ve brought in excited about. We won’t do that over the next two to the season.” as much as we did towards makes this exciting times be able to control all the three weeks as we go And Dale will need that to the end of last season. for us. There probably results and we will lose towards the closing of the balanced thinking in a “I was very aware from hasn’t been as many coming games in League One transfer window.” tough division. early in the summer that in as in previous years, because of its very nature
The squad has been “I see League One as a certain clubs were going but I knew that would be but we just want to be preparing for the season majorly strong division to be very aggressive in the case early in the summer consistent in the way that as a whole and BBM said this year,” said BBM. “I the transfer market. so it’s no big deal for we play the game and stay there was a danger in think there has been a lot “The likes of Peterborough me.” true to ourselves.”
Published by MEN Media, Mitchell Henry House, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton, OL9 8EF. Printed by Reach Printing Services (Oldham) Limited, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton, Oldham OL9 8EB