Rochdale may be out of the FA Cup but Saturday’s game against Sheffield Wednesday is not the last cup match they will play this season, according to manager Keith Hill.
Dale went down 2-1 to the Owls at Spotland despite a stunning 25-yard volley from Michael Rose sparking a late rally from 2-0 down.
Hill was nonetheless proud of his team’s performance but was quick to set the next target of promotion from League Two.
“We’ve got 19 cup finals – they’re our real cup finals,” Hill told BBC Radio Manchester. “There’s magic in every one of those games for us because we can really achieve something this season.”
“Our season’s really alive. We could have been going out of the FA Cup with us in mid-table or fighting relegation, but we’re in a great position in the league and we’ve got a lot to achieve.”
He added to the Dale Player: “The lads can be proud, the Football Club can be proud, the supporters can be proud of the players and it’s now about bouncing into the next game.”
Dale have the perfect opportunity to bounce back tonight when they face the football league’s bottom club Northampton Town at Sixfields stadium.
Despite being four points adrift at the bottom of the league the Cobblers have been buoyed by the arrival of Chris Wilder as their new manager this week.
The appointment represents something of a coup for Northampton after Wilder left sixth-placed Oxford United to take up the reigns at Sixfields.
Northampton almost shocked Dale at Spotland back in October but late goals from Rose and George Donnelly snatched victory a 3-2 for Keith Hill’s men.
Hill bolstered his squad on Monday ahead of the game by re-signing midfielder Jason Kennedy on-loan from Bradford City until the end of the season.
Kennedy made 193 appearances in his first spell at Dale between August 2009 and July 2013 scoring 15 goals.
Image courtesy of Rochdale via YouTube, with thanks.
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