Rochdale welcome league leaders Gillingham to Spotland on Tuesday evening and Manager Keith Hill is expecting a “difficult fixture” as his side go up against a team who have been beaten just once on the road this season.
Ahead of the match, Hill has given his thoughts on Saturday’s defeat at Bristol Rovers and on Tuesday’s encounter.
“I’m very happy with the progress that the players are making," said Hill. "It’s not evident in the results but we shouldn’t panic because there are a lot of good contributions that I’m seeing which will turn in our favour results wise. The performance on Saturday was as good as we’ve had since I’ve been back at the football club so I can see the progress.
“We can’t get startled or scared by the results and we can’t go off plan because there’s a certain mantra and we’ll keep prophesising that mantra. We expect everybody to be 100-percent behind us and in support because the end goal is going to be successful and that’s what we want.”
He added: “There’s a reason they [Gillingham] are top of the league. They’re being managed well, they’ve got a collective spirit and effort, they’re very functional and they get results so they’ve got everything right. They’re the most successful team in the league at this moment in time and they deserve to be top of the tree.
“It [Tuesday night’s match] is going to be a difficult fixture but it is one we’re up for.”