Manager Keith Hill discusses the arrival of Stephen Humphrys and Scott Wiseman, who joined Dale on transfer deadline day...
“We tried to get Stephen in during the summer, but for whatever reason, we couldn’t quite complete the deal then but we’ve kept out eye on the situation,” said the Gaffer.
“He’s had a recent injury which meant we couldn’t get him in at the beginning of the month, but with respect to his progress on the training pitch and his fitness, he’s where he needs to be and he needs games now.
“I’m looking for him to add goals to the side and be a threat to central defenders. You want centre forwards having a presence against central defenders and that’s what we expect. We’re expecting him to be strong in both boxes, and he has to be the first line of defence. He knows that he has to work hard.”
After Donvervon Daniels was recalled early from his loan spell at the Crown Oil Arena by Wigan Athletic, Hill moved to bolster his squad, and he says the addition of Wiseman was very important.
“I was surprised at the lateness of Donvervon’s recall. Paul Cook [Latics Manager] phoned me at the beginning of the month, just prior to us playing Doncaster in the FA Cup to say that he’d probably be recalling him that week, but that didn’t transpire, so I thought I was home and dry until I received a phone call on Wednesday morning indicating that he’d be getting recalled.
“It was an unexpected phone call but I understand where Cookie [Paul Cook] was coming from. It left me in a hole, so it made common sense to try and get Scott Wiseman in because he knows the way that we do things. There could have been a younger option, but I don’t think it would have been the right decision.
“Scott knows exactly what we want from him as a player and the demands that we put on the players to perform in a certain way. He has been very successful with us, so it’s a good acquisition and the right acquisition.
“If I’m being honest, I tried to recruit him in the summer and he chose to go Chesterfield, and I can understand why, but we got there in the end with this one as well.”