Matty Lund became the 15th member of Dale’s promotion winning squad to either sign a contract extension or pen a new deal, after extending his current contract on Friday afternoon.
With the majority of Dale’s squad contracted to the club until the summer of 2016, Manager Keith Hill says you cannot underestimate the continuity of the squad.
“Continuity is not a negative; it’s a real positive for me," said Hill.
“There will be players that leave like Scotty Hogan did, but as long as there’s not too much unrest and players can keep developing and keep responding to the challenges that myself and the staff put them under, then we’ll be ok with this continuity.
“It doesn’t, in my eyes, breed contempt – it doesn’t in my home life or the way that I’ve been brought up.”
He continued: “There has got to be a stimulus and the stimulus has got to be ambition and success.
“We’re bringing through some really, really good young players who need to have a competitive keen edge and say right, Matty Lund, I want to try and establish myself and take your position in the team. That’s the challenges for the likes of Andy Cannon, Callum Camps, Billy Hasler-Cregg and other players. I have a big plan for Kisimba Kisimba within the next two or three years and hopefully he’ll take that challenge
too.
“If we can have that layering system then the transition of moving players on when necessary, i.e. Scott Hogan, then it won’t have too much of an impact on the future and the stability of the football club or the squad.