Manager Keith Hill has been reflecting on the sale of Matty Done in his latest Dale Player interview.
He believes that Done’s transfer is part of the success of the football club.
“When I came back to the football club we were heading financially to the Conference – 100-percent," said Hill. "I couldn’t believe that the money that we (myself and Flicker) had put in the bank from getting promoted last time, finishing ninth and through the sale of players had all be spent by the time we got back and it was going to be spent and spent.
"Last season, we got promoted on a severely reduced budget from the season before and that’s what we do. We look after the financial well-being and the financial house-keeping of the football club. We’re going to stick to that plan.
"When I look back at my time at Barnsley and I look back at what was happening at Rochdale Football Club, there weren't too many saleable assets at the Football Club, in fact, I can’t remember one after Chris O’Grady went, but now we’re establishing the conveyor belt again, which is brilliant.
"We had been selling players on a regular basis - the first one being Glenn Murray. You name it, there’s that many I can’t remember them all!
"That’s part of what we have to do at Rochdale Football Club. The timing of it [Matty Done’s transfer] could have been better, there’s no question about that, but I actually think it’s massive reward for the football club.
"It shows what a great job everybody at this football club is doing to secure the future of the football club because people will not understand how close we were to going into the Conference - we would have been lost forever.
"We’re very mindful of the fact that we’re going to lose players and we had a great discussion with the players, which was brilliant. There’s a real ambition within them players, and who is going to be next? We’re in a privileged position where it might be Jamie Allen next, it might be Callum Camps, it might be Ian Henderson, but that’s rich rewards for the coaching staff and the football club.
"We should be held up as a shining example to the rest of the footballing world to show what can be achieved on the football pitch and what can be achieved financially.”
The full interview is available to view on Dale Player.