Assistant Manager Chris Beech has been reflecting on Dale’s FA Cup fourth round draw, as well as looking ahead to Saturday’s League One fixture v Bradford City, in his latest Dale Player interview…
“I think the players deserved a challenge of going against a Premier League team and they’re going to be a real big challenge for us,” Beech told Dale Player as he spoke about the televised cup clash v Stoke City.
“Success breeds success and obviously from doing so well to beat Nottingham Forest, it is now being supported by the media [by being chosen as a live TV game], which is really good for the football club financially.
“It’s also good for the supporters who can’t get to the games. We’re obviously looking to fill the stadium with as many home supporters we can, but we have supporters who don’t live too near to Rochdale and fans who work in different countries, so they have an opportunity to see us play.”
Dale make the short trip to the Coral Windows Stadium this Saturday to face an inform Bradford City side who are unbeaten in their last ten outings, and Beech is expecting a difficult encounter.
"They’ve got that physical presence, along with some real technical players behind them. Rory McArdle has won the Player of the Month award, along with Phil Parkinson who has picked up Manager of the Month, so they’re in real good form.
“They’re in real good rhythm and they look to play and hit their strengths, which is definitely the front two/ three. They do that ever so well and they keep possession. They’ve got many different ways of trying to score a goal, but of course, when we’re at our best I think we’re capable of beating anyone in this league. We’ve done that often this season, so we’re obviously looking to do that again on Saturday.”
The full interview is available to view on Dale Player.