Matty Done says he wants to help to take the club back to League One, after signing a new deal to keep him at the Crown Oil Arena for another season.
Done, who turns 33-years-old today (Tuesday), spoke to www.rochdaleafc.co.uk after putting pen to paper on his contract on Monday.
“I’m delighted. It’s been a long few weeks getting it done, but I’m delighted to finally sign for another year,” he said.
“This club has been a long part of my career. We’ve had some really good times and we’ve got to rebuild to try and get back up where we were, with another promotion, which I was a part of last time.
“Relegation was tough [to take]. Over the last couple of years, we have always found ourselves in a similar position but got out of it. I think, deep down, we were confident that we would do the same again because we did find some form towards the end of the season. When relegation did come, it was tough to take. But we’ve got to move on, be positive and build on the end of last season.
“People will be coming and people will be going, so we’ve got to rebuild. It’s up to the staff and the players then to build on that and start the campaign as we left the last one.
“It’s been a long summer, with not having the chance to go away, so I’m looking forward to getting back in with all the lads. I’m sure this week will go pretty quick, then this time next week we’ll all be back together.”
Done made 41 appearances in all competitions last season, taking his total across seven seasons in a Rochdale shirt to 282. That places him joint tenth with Stevie Whitehall in the Dale record all-time appearance list.
“I was totally oblivious [of the appearance milestone] until it was mentioned a few weeks before the end of the season. I’ve said to you before, I’m not going to look back on my career and have regrets, but looking back on personal accolades is something that I will do and be proud of. Getting into that top ten was a massive incentive for me once I knew it was in reach, so having signed another I want to build on that and hopefully I can climb a few more places.”
And he recalled some of his favourite memories during his time at the club.
“We’ve had some really, really good times here - some really good fixtures and some really good days out. I always look back on the [2013/14] promotion season and the Bristol Rovers away game with Joe Bunney scoring, especially because that goal meant a lot to him, and the day we won promotion at home.
“The first season I came here, we played Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton, and we went to Southampton and beat them there and we beat them at home to do the double over them. They were great games, as was Bournemouth away.
“There’s also the FA Cups runs that we’ve been on. The Leeds game stands out for me as Hendo has probably scored the best goal I ever seen, even to this day.
“We’ve had some really, really good times and hopefully, fingers crossed, over the next 12 months there will be more positives and things to look forward to.”
Watch Doney’s interview in full our YouTube channel below.