Dale haven't broken the bank with signings

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Keith Hill at Spotland

Following the signing of Matty Done, Rochdale manager Keith Hill says the club hasn’t broken the bank with recruitment. He told Dale Player: “I thought he was out of our reach. At the start of pre-season I spoke with Matty and his representatives and I didn’t think it was going to happen, but the longer it went on and he wasn’t training with another club it became a possibility so I kept pursuing and myself and Matty came to an agreement.

“It is a brilliant signing because he knows the way I work, he knows what I expect, he knows the environment that we’re trying to create and he understandably he feels as though he’s still got a lot to prove. It was only 12 months ago that myself and Barnsley were turning down a significant amount of money from Crystal Palace.

“Probably other clubs will be looking and thinking how can they afford to recruit those players but trust me, we’re doing it within our budget. We’ve been honest with the players, and me and the Board of Directors came up with what is a reasonable budget and we are working within that.

“If I have to generate money I’ll try and do it myself with recycling players, the possibility of cup runs, TV games and maybe the sale of players. So everything that we’re doing is still within our budget and I’m not going to stretch this football club. The players that we’ve recruited want to come here, they want to play here, they understand the identity that we want to create and it’s a collective we, not me attitude. We all want to be successful."