Hill hints at changes for top of the table clash

Photo: Jon Coluccio

Gary Jones returned to training this week following a hamstring injury and will be back in the Dale side at Bournemouth if he can prove his fitness.

Rochdale manager Keith Hill takes his side to table toppers Bournemouth on Saturday (31 October, kick off 3pm), hoping to recover from last weekend’s upset at home to Accrington and to close the five point gap between Dale and the league leaders.

The Dale boss hinted at changes ahead of the game following the below par display against Accrington, which saw Dale defeated for the first time at Spotland since August.

Captain Gary Jones returned to training this week following a hamstring injury that kept him out of the Accrington fixture, and he is certain to return to the midfield if he is fully fit.

Hill said he was happy with a squad that has forced its way into the automatic promotion places but could change things around on the pitch as Dale return to a ground where they were comprehensively beaten at the back end of last season.

“I don't think there is much broken,” said the manager. “In respect to change I'd be looking at changes all the time if we were down at the bottom fighting relegation but I'm really pleased with the way the squad is developing.

“In terms of the team there might be changes. The win at Grimsby meant that I thought all the players deserved the chance to play again today but we didn't really get the same type of performance. It gives an opportunity for some of the lads like Nathan Stanton and Scott Wiseman to nudge back into the side and Will Buckley might be fit as well.”

Results elsewhere meant that Dale retained their automatic promotion berth despite the loss on Saturday but there are now just three points separating Hill’s men from ninth placed Bury.

Hill said: “We haven't really lost any ground on the promotion pack and we're still in third place. It is tight at the top but we've only played 14 games and we've got a decent points haul from those 14 games. Realistically you're looking at 28 points, we've got 26 so we're a couple of points away from where we expected to be.”

Bournemouth are likely to provide Dale’s toughest test of the season so far. They have won 10 of their 14 games so far, a statistic made all the more impressive by the fact that they are not allowed to sign any players because of the financial situation at the south coast club.

Their form did dip at the start of this month, with a couple of defeats and a draw to begin their October, but back to back victories have seen them open up a three point gap over second placed Dagenham & Redbridge and a five point lead over Dale.

If Dale are to take anything back from their long journey south their backline will need to stop Brett Pitman. The striker has hit seven goals so far this term, while captain Danny Hollands has chipped in with three in the last four games. The Dale defence were helpless to stop Pitman last time out as he scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Dale in April.

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