Hill has a bit of turf luck
ROCHDALE will today prepare for their Wembley clash with Tottenham at England’s training base.
The League One strugglers take on the Premier League big boys in an FA Cup fifth-round replay tomorrow night.
Dale boss Keith Hill will ensure they are ready to play on the hallowed turf by putting them through their paces on a Wembleysized pitch at St George’s Park.
He said: “We just thought if we could possibly do it, we would train at St George’s Park on Tuesday.
Sneak
“We’ll be training on a Wembley-sized pitch and then staying down in London.
“We’re not allowed to train on the special England pitch. We can’t sneak on unfortunately.
“But the FA have been tremendous. It was lastminute.com to allow us to use the facilities they have there. It’s brilliant.
“We are on the same dimensions as Wembley. All the pitches there are immaculate.
“It is another opportunity for us to use a very good training facility, so why not take advantage?”
Rochdale relaid their own pitch at Spotland ahead of their 2-2 draw with Spurs nine days ago after boss Mauricio Pochettino claimed it was too dangerous to play on.
The winners will face the victors of tonight’s other replay between Swansea and Sheffield Wednesday in the quarter-finals.