Rochdale goalkeeper Josh Lillis is hoping that the lavish Spotland pitch will once again work in his side’s favour when they entertain Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.
Spotland this week received an impressive score of 4.58 out of five by the Football League’s Playing Surfaces Committee, a remarkable feat considering Rugby League World Cup games also took place there in 2013.
The slick surface has certainly aided Dale this season as they have the best home record in League Two, taking 28 points from a possible 39 so far, and Lillis paid tribute to the hard work of the ground staff.
“We do like to get the ball down and pass it, so a nice pitch always suits us,” Lillis told MM.
“The ground staff here have been brilliant, I know they spent a lot of money working on it over the summer because obviously rugby is played on it as well.
“That just shows how well they have been doing their job, with both rugby and football being played on it.”
The arrival of Plymouth allows Dale to seek vengeance after losing the away fixture back in August 1-0 thanks to a controversial penalty decision.
This is something not lost on 26-year-old Lillis.
“Obviously it would be nice to get one back over them as they beat us down there 1-0 but we’re just going to go out there like any other day and hopefully get the win,” he said.
“We’ve been doing well at home and hopefully that can continue.”
The Plymouth clash begins what could prove a pivotal week in Dale’s season with a trip to promotion rivals Chesterfield next Tuesday followed by their FA Cup fourth round tie with Sheffield Wednesday a week on Saturday.
But Lillis insisted that the team’s approach to upcoming fixtures will not change one iota.
“We might look at back at the end of the season and say this was one of the biggest weeks for us, but we’ve just got to take the matches this week as we do every other game,” he added.
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