Kilshaw’s men in fine shape for Law Cup
ROCHDALE Hornets head coach Alan Kilshaw has been extremely happy with the pre-season training his side have put in ahead of tomorrow’s Law Cup clash against Oldham Roughyeds.
Hornets kick off their pre-season fixture list with a match against their neighbours at the Crown Oil Arena (3pm kick off).
Kilshaw is glad to finally be back in the swing of things, and he has been pleased with the effort put in by his players over the past couple of months.
“Training has gone well. Most coaches say it at this time of the year but our preparation has not been disrupted in any way whatsoever,” he said.
“We have the facilities at Padgate and have done some work at Hopwood Hall too, so it was a good phase up until Christmas and then we were back in after a short break.
“The team are gelling well and we’ve been working on new combinations and systems, so we’ll put the players under pressure to utilise them in the friendlies over the coming weeks.
“There is a good focus in the team at the moment and we’ve changed a few things up. There’s been a lot of mental toughness work and a few things that will hopefully give us an edge over the course of the season.
“Most of the new lads are experienced players who have been playing in the league for a long time, so they’ve been able to settle well into the group.
“There’s some younger lads too and they’re starting to come out of their shell a bit and talk a bit more, as they know what’s expected of them and what the standard of a Hornets player is now.”
While there are plenty of new recruits at Hornets, there will be a familiar face making his return to the Crown Oil Arena this weekend as Paul Crook lines up for Oldham during the game.
Crook was one of Rochdale’s best players of the modern era, having amassed a total of 1,499 points during his time at Hornets.
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