Manager Keith Hill was in a positive mood at training on Friday, as he spoke to the media ahead of Saturday’s home match against Bristol Rovers at the Crown Oil Arena.
Hill, Rochdale’s most successful manager, hopes he and the players can call on previous successes to steer Dale back towards the heady heights of the last three seasons in League One.
“You’ve got to have a smile on your face in battle. You can only experience failure by being successful or striving to be successful,” said Hill.
“We have a framework and we have a plan to be successful, and we have a plan and ambition to be more successful than any Rochdale team in the history of the football club.
“And we’ve set that bar. The players that we have at this moment in time, and previous players and teams that I’ve had, have set the bar. The bar is raised to a height that the club hasn’t been operating at in its history.
“It’s important that we use history to improve our opportunities going forward. You need brave players – it’s about having a courage to commit to giving everything you possibly can to be successful but risk failing as well.
“The players are 100-percent giving their all at this moment in time. Two thirds of everything we did on Tuesday night was good and we can definitely get the results that we need.
“We’ve enjoyed a lot of success together – me, the players, staff, the directors and the supporters – but my biggest fear going into every season has always been the possibility of failure, and it’s my ambition to be more successful than previous seasons. And that’s what we do – we take failure on.
“I’ve still got an expectation to be knocking on the door of the top ten come the end of season.”
Watch the full interview on iFollow.