Manager Keith Hill was remaining grounded on Monday morning despite his side rising to joint top of the Sky Bet League Two table over the weekend.
A late winner from Ian Henderson sealed three points for Dale at Cheltenham Town's Whaddon Road on Saturday, and while Hill recognises that the players have got to enjoy results like that, he’s keen to stress that it is too early to get carried away.
He told Dale Player: “I’m pleased that Rochdale Football Club is retrieving its identity – an identity that we set in stone for the future when I was first at the club. Trust me, we had the future designed for this Football Club and we’re getting there. We’re getting our footprint back and I’m really pleased about that.”
He continued: “Success brings its problems – the expectancy and the problems with the opposition probably paying us a bit more respect, but we just want to try and continue our good form and our development.
"I’m thinking about performances and I can’t be too disappointed with a lot of the performances we’ve had this season. One disappointment was Portsmouth but everybody in the Football Club can be forgiven for that. However, let’s not over egg the pudding. We’re still a work in progress, we’ve got a lot of learning to do, there’s a lot of football games left to play, but I’m reasonably happy.”
Rochdale welcome Northampton Town to Spotland on Tuesday evening and although the Cobblers are sitting at the opposite end of the table from Dale, Hill says that should count for nothing.
“The league table means nothing at this time in the season. It’s about points, it’s about trying to win games, trying to stick to your morals and we’re doing okay with that. We’ll be well versed and well prepared with respect to Northampton. They were a team who were in the play-off finals last season and I’ve got a lot of admiration for Aidy Boothroyd and his teams. It will be a stern test of our character and our credentials, but we have no fear.”
You can listen to the full interview on Dale Player.