Manager Keith Hill reacts to Rochdale’s Carabao Cup second round draw…
After comfortably seeing off Mansfield Town on Tuesday night in round one, Dale have been draw away to Premier League side Stoke City in round two.
Reflecting on the draw Hill commented: “We couldn’t get a more difficult tie. Mark Hughes and Stoke are so professional and they’re an unbelievable side at home. Hughes has got a winning mentality and winning instincts.
“I listened to him on TV the other day talking to Gary Neville and he says he’s going to take the competition seriously, so we couldn’t have had a worst draw with respect to trying to cause an upset.
“But I’m excited about going to the Britannia Stadium because it’s a great opportunity for the players.
“It represents a hefty challenge. I don’t think it’s a 50/50 challenge, I think it’s more of a yellow card challenge, but from a plotting and testing yourself perspective, it’s exciting. And who knows – we’ll be going there relatively pressure free.
“It’s one we’ll look forward to because we worked hard and we earned our right to get into the next round.”
Dale last faced the Potters in January 2015, when the sides met in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the Crown Oil Arena.
Despite the score-line, Rochdale put in a spirited and a battling effort against the Premier League side. Looking back at the fixture, Hill commented: “You’ve got to finish your chances.
“We worked all week on our number four dealing with Bojan, and then Bojan scores a volley from the edge of the box so our number four didn’t deal with Bojan,” laughed Hill.
“I think we were excellent that night, especially in the first half. The game just got away from us but we did have one or two opportunities.”
Watch the full interview on iFollow.