A Busy Month Ahead For Rochdale Town
Mon 24th March 2014 | Rochdale Town | By Ian Templeman
Rochdale Town Chairman/manager Mark Canning is gearing up for a punishing schedule of games in the space of the next few weeks.
With 12 league games and two legs of the League Challenge Cup semi-final to fit in between now and Saturday 26th April, 11 of those games being at home, it's going to be a busy month for Mark and everyone at the club, and he is already laying plans to cope with the heavy programme.
"It's very frustrating for us to be in this position, because a backlog of games like this isn't something we have ever had before", he said. "Other clubs have had problems in the past, through lots of postponements or success in cup competitions, but it is a new experience for us. It seems that every time the bad weather has struck, it has coincided with us being at home.
"As everyone knows, we don't have overall control over the condition of the pitch at the Mayfield Sports Centre, although we do spend a lot of time on match days, getting down as early as we can to work on the pitch and make sure it is playable.
"Hopefully the weather will be kind to us in the next few weeks and we will be able to get all the games in".
In the meantime Mark is bolstering the ranks to ensure he has enough personnel to cope with the busy schedule.
"I've signed quite a few players in the last week or two, and will definitely bring in more before the deadline on the 31st March", he said. "There's no way I can expect players to play three or four games a week consistently for a month, so I will have to rotate the squad a bit. Playing Saturday/Tuesday/Thursday for several weeks running is too much to ask of players at this level.
"But we are looking for a high finish in the league, we have two cup semi-finals to look forward to, and hopefully we can use the next month to build up some momentum and finish the season strongly".
A Busy Month Ahead For Rochdale Town
Mon 24th March 2014 | Rochdale Town
By Ian Templeman
Rochdale Town Chairman/manager Mark Canning is gearing up for a punishing schedule of games in the space of the next few weeks.
With 12 league games and two legs of the League Challenge Cup semi-final to fit in between now and Saturday 26th April, 11 of those games being at home, it's going to be a busy month for Mark and everyone at the club, and he is already laying plans to cope with the heavy programme.
"It's very frustrating for us to be in this position, because a backlog of games like this isn't something we have ever had before", he said. "Other clubs have had problems in the past, through lots of postponements or success in cup competitions, but it is a new experience for us. It seems that every time the bad weather has struck, it has coincided with us being at home.
"As everyone knows, we don't have overall control over the condition of the pitch at the Mayfield Sports Centre, although we do spend a lot of time on match days, getting down as early as we can to work on the pitch and make sure it is playable.
"Hopefully the weather will be kind to us in the next few weeks and we will be able to get all the games in".
In the meantime Mark is bolstering the ranks to ensure he has enough personnel to cope with the busy schedule.
"I've signed quite a few players in the last week or two, and will definitely bring in more before the deadline on the 31st March", he said. "There's no way I can expect players to play three or four games a week consistently for a month, so I will have to rotate the squad a bit. Playing Saturday/Tuesday/Thursday for several weeks running is too much to ask of players at this level.
"But we are looking for a high finish in the league, we have two cup semi-finals to look forward to, and hopefully we can use the next month to build up some momentum and finish the season strongly".
