Jim’s ignoring gut instinct to keep Dale fresh

JIM Mcnulty has waited months for a healthy contingent of players to select from – and the Rochdale head coach insists he must ignore his gut instincts and listen to what the experts are telling him.

Dale ran out 3-0 winners against Wealdstone at the Crown Oil Arena on Tuesday with the likes of Tyrese Sinclair, Adam Clayton, Devante Rodney and Ian Henderson on the bench alongside new loan signing Dan Sassi.

Dale kick off a busy March with a trip to Ebbsfleet

today before another long-distance journey to Barnet on Tuesday and Mcnulty is keen to protect his players’ freshness.

“It’s all about how we keep the team fresh, knowing there will be judgments made on any change you make!” he said. “Not everyone sees what I see – I see these players week in, week out. Not everyone knows their current physical state. Devante Rodney for example – I am being advised by the people who know better than any of us, the sports science and medical departments, that if we re-expose Dev after his first 90-minute performance then he is in danger, because of the athlete that he is. I have to listen to those people, even when my gut instinct is saying ‘I don’t want to, I want to put him out there again’.

“It’s important not to be greedy and I will always face the music with my choices, knowing that I put the players and their safety first.”

Mcnulty was delighted with his side’s display against Wealdstone with

Ethan Ebanks-landell’s opener followed by a Cian Hayes brace.

“I thought it was outstanding,” said Mcnulty.

“I probably don’t need to do too much talking, the team did that themselves, all-round defensively, and offensively. I thought we were really destructive.

“That came from a brilliant work ethic, brilliant commitment and some real expression from the players as a team. It could’ve been a big score.

“There were so many aspects of what you look for in a top team performance.

“It’s hard to think of too many areas where we fell short as a group as individuals. The team was red hot, and we blew them away, and they’re a good team, hard to get the ball off, hard to beat.

“For us to be so complete as a team, I thought that it was really impressive.

“One of the reasons we looked so good were the options, the freshness, the team performance looked energetic.

“There were moments before where the players were plateauing. It’s normal, and with a reasonable squad depth, you have the opportunity to take players out of the firing line for a day or two.

“We’ve never been able to do that. It’s no coincidence now we have options for freshness the team was energetic and really punchy.

“The team did everything this week in training, and when we win comfortably and emphatically in performance, it’s important the team get what they deserve.”