Some early team news ahead of Dale's trip to the Shay...
Dale take on FC Halifax Town in a pre-season friendly on Tuesday evening and Manager Keith Hill has revealed it’ll be all change at the Shay.
Hill will make a full eleven changes to the side that started against AFC Fylde on Saturday.
He told Dale Player: “[The pre-season games are] about whether the players are trying to do the right thing and whether you can see certain things you need to adjust. We’ve still got a four week period where we can adjust, change and bring players in if we need to.
“I’m looking forward to the rest of the pre-season games including Halifax, and the result will be insignificant, that’s for sure. I need give all the players as much of an opportunity as I possibly can and on Tuesday night there will be players playing in positions they are not familiar with.
“It’s an opportunity to see how flexible we can be, as well as putting the players under stress in these games. We need to see players under stress because we’re trying to prepare for season ahead. I’ve had in the past unbelievable pre-seasons where everything has gone right, won every game 4-0, 5-0, or 6-0 and the players haven’t been put under any stress like they would do during the season.
“You have to put players under pressure in different ways, not just during the game, but psychologically as well, and that’s what we intend doing in these games.
“For me, it’s not about winning those games, it’s about setting down certain principles and continuing our fitness as we progress through pre-season and into the first game of the season, which is against Peterborough United, and beyond.”
He added: “We will play the remaining ten outfield players [who either didn’t start/or feature on Saturday] and Josh Lillis.
"The eleven that starts on Tuesday will include Brian Barry-Murphy and he’ll play in a familiar position to him, but an unfamiliar position for the supporters, in the same way that I’m going to play Peter Vincenti in
an unfamiliar position.
“It’s about seeing how the players are developing under the test, not just of the opposition, but the test I’m putting them under as a coach as well.”
The full interview is on Dale Player.