Last season, over a hundred United fans were apprehended at the football, with the majority of those at Old Trafford matches.

Three wins and three clean sheets on the bounce have led to Johnson and his men storming up the league table.

Victory for the Dale condemned a lacklustre Crawley to a fourth straight league defeat and took Rochdale to 13th after they scored their 12th away goal in three fixtures, having conceded just two.

Rochdale play Crawley Town for the first time this weekend with manager Keith Hill in need of a result rather than a pretty performance.

Hill took a gamble with his starting line-up in Tuesday’s 5-2 defeat of Crewe Alexandra – sticking last season’s left-back Matty Done up front which raised eyebrows – however the makeshift forward responded emphatically with a hat-trick.

Keith Hill believes he needs a gagging order in his bid to add the two ‘get out of jail free cards’ he needs for his Rochdale deck as he prepares to shuffle his pack for the visit to Chesterfield.

Oldham were dispatched 3-0 in the Capital One Cup by Championship Middlesbrough on Tuesday and can now turn their attention to the league as they play Leyton Orient on Saturday.

Two goals either side of half time were enough for Preston North End to see off fellow League One outfit Rochdale at Spotland for a comfortable 2-0 win in the first round of the competition.

Johnson says his side took confidence from Saturday’s 2-2 opening draw away to Colchester as they prepare to face Middlesbrough in the Capital One Cup first round.

Preston will play Rochdale in an all League One clash at Spotland in the first round on Tuesday after the pair began their league campaigns with a draw and a defeat respectively.

While Rochdale’s past campaign was all about securing promotion, the focus of the former FA Cup winners’ League One bow is likely to be staving off relegation as they prepare to welcome Peterborough on Saturday.