Keith Hill is fishing for three points as Rochdale clash with ex-Premier League big boys Coventry City.
The Dale host Coventry at Spotland Stadium tomorrow, looking to leapfrog the visitors in the table and improve on their current 11th position in League One.
And the Rochdale boss knows his tean will have to get their hooks in to the Sky Blues’ danger men if they are to avoid a repeat of their narrow defeat to fellow Premier League alumni Sheffield United last Saturday.
Keith Hill told the club’s website: “They’re another big fish in the league. They’re an ex-Premier League team and they’re back at the Ricoh Arena, which is great for them.
“I’ve got great respect for the management team. They’re a very good side and it’s going to be a competitive, difficult game.
“It’s going to be a difficult season regardless of who we play or the results that we get. We’ve got to keep nudging and we’ve got to keep accumulating points.”
The Spotland outfit smashed four past fellow Midlanders Walsall on Tuesday night – the second time they had won 4-0 in three games after they returned from Crawley with three points safely in the bag.
Hill said: “I’m really pleased and I think the players are especially pleased as well because of the endeavour and the work that they put in. A lot of it is unseen work that we do on the training pitch and what started in pre-season – now it’s all evolving.
“I’m quietly excited by the prospects of the remainder of the season, but I’m also trying to look into the future and when I look into the future I’m thinking wow, we could be really good.”
It’s been an impressive September for Dale after a tricky adjustment to life in League One after their promotion last season.
And since midfielders Matthew Done and Ian Henderson have started leading the line and hitting the target, Hill’s men have lost only once and recorded big wins over Crawley Town and Crewe Alexandra.
First-choice goalkeeper Josh Lillis, Mathew Lund and Jack Muldoon are all still on the injury list, but the squad will approach the fixture in reasonable shape.
Resurgent Coventry City are on a four-match unbeaten run as they return to their Ricoh home after a season in the Northampton wilderness and sitting ninth in League One, so it is likely to be a strong test.
However, they will be without forwards Josh McQuoid and Shaun Miller due to injury and captain Reda Johnson through suspension.
Image courtesy of Rochdale AFC via YouTube, with thanks.
