Kairo Mitchell is happy to be back playing following his injury but is now looking to bounce back and find his previous form.
The forward made his first start for Jimmy McNulty's side last Saturday, after being sidelined since late November.
Mitchell is now looking to get back up to speed and is looking to add to his ten Vanarama National League goals.
"It’s been good to be back. I had my first start last Saturday, just looking now to pick up the pace, pick up the minutes and try and find some form, and try and get back to where I was before I got injured," said Mitchell.
"It's part of football. It wasn’t meant to happen. It did happen, and it’s something that you’ve got to deal with and bounce back from as best as possible.
"I think that I’ve done that. I’ve tried everything I could to get back as soon as possible. I’m back now. I want to get back into the swing of things."
Dale have lost three games in a row for the first time this season, despite that, Mitchell is confident that the form will turn as partnerships and understanding continue to develop.
"The proof is always in the work. Nothing comes without continuous, consistent work. We’ve got a lot of new bodies and faces. For example, last weekend was the first time that I have ever played with D’Mani [Mellor].
"Before that, I hadn’t played with him. Little partnerships and certain things come from working together on the training pitch.
"From there, we can gain those partnerships, gain a better understanding of where we need to be at certain times and learn how other players around us play.
"So yeah, it takes a bit of time, but that’s something that we need to work on in training, as I said, and try to get to grips with it as soon as possible.
"Don’t get me wrong, it’s disappointing to lose three games on the bounce. It’s something that I suppose is also a part of football, but no one wants to do that. It’s not ideal at all.
"But we’ve shown that we can score goals. We can beat teams, we can be regimented and have been difficult to play against. We just need to find that form again, and that starts with the next game.
"We can’t change anything that’s happened. It’s not ideal like I said, but we continue to look at where we went wrong and what we can improve on and try to put that into the next training session. That’s the most important thing."
With Solihull Moors up next for Dale at the weekend, the Grenada international is aware of the challenge ahead. Mitchell is also feeling positive about the squad, which has grown thanks to a number of signings, as well as players, like The 26-year-old, returning from injury.
"They’re a difficult team. When we played them at their place, they were on an unbeaten run of something like 14 games. So they have got that side to them where they can be difficult to beat.
"We’re looking at where we can move them around, cause them problems and disrupt their defence. If they do sit a bit deep and are trying to be difficult to beat, then you need to have people moving around with penetrating runs.
"It’s also helpful to have as many players in the squad as possible, but it’s also a bit of competition as well, which I think can be healthy.
"You need to perform all the time because if not, someone will take your position. Whereas in the past, we have been a bit bare, and it has been a bit difficult, but yeah, it is healthy to have a lot of players back."
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