It’s business as usual for Dale as Keith Hill prepares his side for two fixtures in three days over the festive period.
Rochdale make the trip to Scunthorpe United on Boxing Day, before hosting Fleetwood Town on December 28th - two sides that were promoted alongside Dale last season.
Speaking on Christmas Eve, Hill commented: “The players are very professional and we trust the players. We do the right things regardless of whether it’s a Christmas Day or a New Year’s Day.
“The games that we’ve got coming up are really important and they’re really exciting games to be involved in and if I’m being honest, I think it’s a great break for the players to actually be out playing football on Boxing Day. It’s not a chore, it’s a great opportunity to play a game.”
Despite the Iron’s difficult start to the season, they’ve been in fine form since Mark Robins took to the managerial reigns in October, losing just once in their last eleven games in all competitions.
Hill is expecting a tough encounter.
“They’re all difficult games but we don’t look at league positions when we we’re planning for the opposition.
“We just look at the players that they’ve got available, the different permutations that they’ve got with respect to players being picked, systems and formations. We look at that and then come up with our own plan with the players that we’ve got.
Great respect to Mark Robins, as I always have had, and to Scunthorpe, but it’s just another game for us.”
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