Rochdale fans Daniel and Dean were helpful enough to spare us a few minutes to answer the following questions ahead of the new season.
For me last season was a terrific success. Having come up from League 2 we were unfortunate not to make the play offs but the key now is to build upon what hopefully was a decent foundation. We didn't have a great end to our season conceding 13 in our last 5 including 5 on the last day but I think that may have been more to do with everyone having one eye on their holidays. We also had a great cup run too and there is no shame in going out to Premier League opposition.
HAVE YOU BEEN IMPRESSED WITH THE ADDITIONS MADE DURING THE SUMMER BREAK?
I've been more impressed with the players we've managed to keep a hold of. No disrespect to the signings we have brought in but I think keeping Ian Henderson is as good as a new signing. He scored a lot of goals for us last season and hopefully he can pick up where he left off.
ARE THERE ANY AREAS YOU FEEL STILL NEED STRENGTHENING?
I'd like to see us bring in another striker. In all honesty I think if you ask most fans they'll give a similar answer regardless of who they have up top. We're quite settled at the back and very creative in the midfield.
ARE THERE ANY FIXTURES THAT YOU'RE PARTICULARLY LOOKING FORWARD TO?
I'm looking forward to going away to Blackpool. I live in Dundee in Scotland so any game I travel down for is always a fun adventure, a few of my friends and I are heading to Blackpool for the match and it's quite early on in the season so there is still that early excitement.
WHICH OPPOSITION TEAM DO YOU HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR THIS SEASON?
I think Swindon might be round and about the promotion places again. They obviously will want to put the hurt of the play-off final behind them so expect them to come out all guns blazing.
WHICH PLAYERS AMONG YOUR SQUAD SHOULD WE BE LOOKING OUT FOR THIS TERM?
Rhys Bennet. I am a big fan of him and he has a touch of quality about him.
WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'LL END UP AT THE END OF THE SEASON?
As I said earlier hopefully we can build upon a positive season last year and improve perhaps even reaching the play-offs. It is a long season and teams in the league are all capable of taking points off of each other. You always have to look forward in football and not rest on your laurels.
Now Dean's turn.
HOW DID YOU FEEL THE 14/15 SEASON WENT FOR YOUR TEAM?
Brilliantly. Realistically, we couldn't really have asked for much more. Although there was a flicker of hope for the play-offs for a while, we knew that consolidation was the aim more than anything and to achieve our highest ever league finish with probably the lowest budget in the division was seriously impressive. Some fans may have been frustrated by the mid-season sale of Matt Done but in the end a club our size needs to accept big offers for the longevity of the club.
HAVE YOU BEEN IMPRESSED WITH THE ADDITIONS MADE DURING THE SUMMER BREAK?
There have only been three so far and on paper they don’t look like the most inspiring signings. Jim McNulty couldn't make the team at Bury for example and Donal McDermott’s last two clubs were Ramsbottom United and Salford City. That said, they've both looked pretty good in pre-season as well as Lewis Allessandra but our best bit of business this summer has been keeping hold of Jamie Allen and Ian Henderson (for now.)
ARE THERE ANY AREAS YOU FEEL STILL NEED STRENGTHENING?
I’d like to see us sign a new goalkeeper. Josh Lillis has been a fine servant for the club in the past but I’m not sure he’s capable of being a dominant force in League One. If we can bring back Conrad Logan who was brilliant on loan last year, the whole fan base would be over the moon. I’d personally like to see us bring in another central midfielder also, especially with Rhys Bennett and Matt Lund set to miss the start of the season due to injury.
ARE THERE ANY FIXTURES THAT YOU'RE PARTICULARLY LOOKING FORWARD TO?
Loads! League One is brilliant this season for local matches and there are some excellent ties to look out for that we didn't have last season. Blackpool is our first away game of the season and should be fun - providing there is no pitch invasion. Wigan away on Easter Monday will also be a brilliant day out and of course the two derby matches against Bury are always two matches to look out for when we happen to be in the same division.
WHICH OPPOSITION TEAM DO YOU HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR THIS SEASON?
Aside from the obvious favourites in Sheffield United and Wigan, I think Bradford will have a good season. They've already hot a host of impressive players and with the pitch sorted out and a massive fan base behind them at Valley Parade they’ll be very hard to break down this season. If Barnsley can add some experience to their young squad then they’ll be a tough nut to crack as well.
WHICH PLAYERS AMONG YOUR SQUAD SHOULD WE BE LOOKING OUT FOR THIS TERM?
Ian Henderson is the obvious one having racked up 22 league goals last season, but Jamie Allen is the man who has a big future ahead of him. He’s only 20 but has already been given the role of club captain and his dictation of play is among the best I've ever seen in the lower leagues. We have a couple of other youngsters that are set for big seasons as well including Andy Cannon, Callum Camps and Scott Tanser - they could all go on to play at a higher level.
WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'LL END UP AT THE END OF THE SEASON?
I think losing Stephen Dawson will hit us harder than perhaps other supporters expect and unless we can find loanees that can do the job that Jack O’Connell and Conrad Logan did last season, we’ll have a slightly weaker squad. I also think that the top half of the division will be more competitive this year but I see us as far too strong to be struggling towards the foot of the table, particularly with Hill in charge. I’ll go for 14th.
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