npower League One fixture: Rochdale AFC v Bury
Spotland, January 28th, 3pm kick-off
With the countdown to derby day well and truly under way, Dale boss John Coleman can't wait to get in the dug out for his first match in charge at Rochdale.
Saturday's encounter at home to Bury will mark the first game in charge for Coleman, and his assistant Jimmy Bell, following their appointment on Tuesday.
In an interview with Dale Player, Coleman said: "I wish it was coming up right now. With the build up to it, the excitement, and the anticipation, you don't want it to be a let down for yourself personally so we want to get playing it as soon as we can. I want to try and get the players playing the way we want to play as quickly as possible. It might not happen over night but that's our aim, and to get them to start believing in the way we play. Saturday can't come quick enough."
Saturday's match at Spotland is the second meeting between the two the sides this season, with Dale coming out 4-2 winners at Gigg Lane back in September. However for Coleman, tomorrow is about getting a result first and foremost, not the last encounter: "I don't think that game will have any bearing. It might have them fired up a little bit more because they won't want to lose two derbys in a season. But for me it's got no bearing on what we do on Saturday, whoever we play we've got to believe we can take the three points."
The full interview with John Coleman is available on Dale Player now.
Match officials
Scott Mathieson
David Benton and Paul Curry
Paul Graham
Last meeting:
Sat, September 10th: Bury 2-4 Rochdale
Rochdale were 4-2 winners in the first derby of the season.
Ashley Grimes, Marcus Holness, Nicky Adams, and David Ball were on the score sheet at Gigg Lane.
