On-loan striker Graham Cummins believes Rochdale must guard against complacency when they take on Exeter City at Spotland on Saturday.
An impressive 2-1 win at Morecambe last time out leaves Dale third in League Two.
Exeter meanwhile are tenth and in dismal form having not won in seven games but Cummins is taking nothing for granted.
“I think Wimbledon had that kind of record when they came up against us and they came away with three points, so I look at that as the motivation for the Exeter game we can’t be overconfident,” Cummins told MM before training on Friday.
“Everyone beats everyone in this league look at Northampton beating Fleetwood last week (bottom beating top) so there’s no guaranteed three points.”
The 25-year-old forward who is on loan from Preston North End was praised by assistant manager Chris Beech for doing ‘the ugly work’ well against Morecambe.
This is a role that the Northern Irishman is happy to play although he admits his lack of goals is a concern (he’s scored just once since joining Dale).
“I’m not a flair player like Scott (Hogan) or Hendo (Ian Henderson) on the wings, I wouldn’t try to be,” said Cummins.
“So if I can do the ugly work then I’m happy to do that because that is my game (and) I’m going to play to my strengths.
“It bothers me a lot that I’ve only got one goal obviously most centre forwards want to be scoring every week.
“I’ve tried to adopt a different mentality that if I’m not scoring at least I’m going to try and play well and not let it affect me.”
Manager Keith Hill recently said that Rochdale was a club ‘on the rise’ and Cummins agrees with these sentiments.
“I think our style of football earns us a lot of plaudits people think League Two teams just want to hoof the ball but that’s probably a last resort for us,” he said.
“It definitely is a club on the rise (and) we’re challenging at the top of the table when perhaps people didn’t think we would be.
“We’ve got such a big squad as well that hopefully we can keep it up.”
Cummins is on loan at Dale until January and although he remains unsure about his future he did not rule out an extended stay at Spotland.
“I am delighted to be playing every week and just to be getting game time even when I’m on the bench, at least I can still get on the pitch and be involved,” he added.
“Anything can happen in football, I’m just focusing on here and now, I’m not looking at January or anything like that I’m just looking to get three points on Saturday.”
Image courtesy of officialRochdaleAFC via YouTube, with thanks.
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