We caught up with Manager Robbie Stockdale on Monday morning, ahead of Dale’s Sky Bet League Two fixture against Carlisle United on Tuesday evening.
Rochdale head into the match on the back on the weekend win over Northampton Town. That victory made is seven points from the last available nine, and the Gaffer says he hopes his side can continue that momentum.
“You’re always hopeful but the only reason we got those results was the doggedness in our performances," said the boss.
“Hand on heart, we probably played well for a game and half out of those three games. The next step is to reproduce the performance that we had on Saturday, because, without going over old ground, that gives us the best chance to win, but there’s no given right.
“We still have to do the dirty side of the game very well. We need to be difficult to play against and win individual battles on the pitch, because when we do that, we look a good team.”
Carlisle United were also victorious at the weekend, securing a 1-0 win over Leyton Orient, in Paul Simpson’s first game in charge, following his appointment as manager earlier in the week.
“It’s a strange one because we obviously try to look at teams in advance of when we play them, but they’ve had a change of manager and we’re going to have to have a look at the game he was in charge for when they won at Leyton Orient on Saturday.
“They’ll have changed a couple of things around, so the work we’ve done prior to Paul going in will be more on individuals for the team but we will certainly look to see if they’ve changed tactics.”
Personnel wise ahead of the game, Stockdale says there might be changes to the side that lined up against the Cobblers on Saturday.
“The difficulty is such a quick turn around in games at the moment, so we’ll have to see who’s fit and available.
“We’ve got a couple of knocks from Saturday that will be assessed this morning (Monday), so the team might look different again.
“I changed the formation slightly on the weekend and the players came in and did a good job. Can they go again? So there’s a lot to take in to account.”
Watch the Gaffer’s pre-match interview in full on the club’s YouTube channel.