The club have today confirmed the departure of head coach Robbie Stockdale and his assistant Jimmy Shan.
After a shocking start to the season in which four defeats from four league games leave the club at the foot of the table, the board have taken the decision to remove the management duo from their positions at the club.
Stockdale was appointed in July 2021, replacing Brian Barry-Murphy who had left the club to join Manchester City as U23 manager.
Despite off-field issues, Stockdale led the club to some strong form in the early stages of the season, and perhaps the most memorable days of his tenure came with away wins at Port Vale and Northampton Town in the early stages of the season.
Consistency and a drop in performance levels saw Dale head into the January window in the lower reaches of mid-table and after the sales of Jake Beesley and Aaron Morley, new signings struggled to hit the ground running and the team continued to stutter in the second half of the season.
Away form in particular was woeful, with Dale losing 9 of their 12 away games after the turn of the year, their only victories coming at bottom-placed Scunthorpe and in a final day dead rubber at Newport County.
Some pivotal home wins against Carlisle and Hartlepool ensured that Dale remained in the Football League and Stockdale was afforded the chance to rebuild his squad against this summer with thoughts of aiming higher this time around.
However, it speaks to the performance levels in the early weeks of the season that the board have seen enough just four games in and decided to remove Stockdale and Shan from their positions at the club.
It is considered likely that Jim McNulty will take temporary charge of first-team affairs while the club look for a new manager.