Rochdale face Crewe Alex in the first round of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy on Tuesday evening.
Speaking ahead of the tie, Manager Keith Hill says he’ll be taking the competition very seriously.
“We want to win every football match we play in and we want to give a good account of ourselves - I believe we have done that so far this season. We’re only one point worse off than we were at this time last season and what last season turned into was incredible.
“The JPT is an important competition as it’s a money revenue stream, but more importantly it’s a good opportunity to get as close to Wembley as we possibly can. It’s also a nice breather from the league because the league can get a bit heavy with respect to pressure.
“I will make changes to make sure that all the players I want fit, fresh and available for Saturday will be. I think it’s right to make one or two changes without diluting our chances of winning the game.
“I want to win the game and I want us to be as effective as we were against them last time. We intend on taking the game and the competition very seriously.
Dale were 5-2 winners over Crewe when the sides met in the league at Gretsy Road just a fortnight ago, and while Hill is looking for the same effectiveness, he says you can’t draw a comparison between the two games.
“They’ll have seen us play, not just that evening, but since then as a consequence of being drawn against them. However, I don’t think you can compare Tuesday night with our previous result against them.”
He continued: The players have got loads of confidence going into the game because after watching the DVD of Saturday’s game we could see that we went toe to toe with who I consider to be one of the bigger clubs in league one and who are a very, very good side.
“I looked at the edited highlights and they show us all first half. The second half they probably edged it and it belonged to Bradford, but we were so close. For me, it’s not a question of just ripping up the old plan, that’s the plan not for this season but for next season as well, and starting again.
“I feel as though we’ve just got to stick to the plan and if there’s any hand grenades to be thrown, then make sure they’re thrown at the Manager because the players need and deserve the support they’ve been getting because they’ve been doing exceptionally well.”