As part of our Trust week, Ryan Tomlinson looks back at Monday evening's Trust organised Fans Forum

Rochdale have never trained on Bowlee under Keith Hill, despite it being rumoured by several media sources. The club is actively seeking three or four training venues as when you’re limited to one venue; it can become overused, and can tire the relationship between the two parties.

The backroom staff are a key part of the success we are experiencing at the moment and this is well received by the players. The players are actively seeking feedback and information, and they know they’ll get it on a consistent basis and not one hour every week where it can work out as information overload.

The players know they are getting the proper build up, a warm down, a proper meal pre and post match. They know they’re going to get the right treatment and the right advice here now. It’s not a matter if a player misses a shot by 2 yards that its “unlucky,” it’s now poor technique and the players want to correct that.

Try telling a striker that there are no shooting drills that day and they’ll go mental. And it’s not so much Tony Ellis that coaches the strikers, although he’s more than willing to come in to help during the day, it’s more David Flitcroft. Flickers has a number of training drills with interesting names such as the Brazilian drill and the popular Hungarian drill which Glenn Murray loves. Apparently word of this Hungarian drill has got round so much that even Preston’s Paul Simpson phoned Flickers to find out more about it!

Tony Ellis is now the eye in the sky on match days, contacting Flickers from the stand, relaying information in a similar fashion as Chris Wilcock did last season. He also runs the Centre of Excellence, helping players progress to a stage where they’re ready for Chris Beech, who will coach the scholars and try and find some players who are ready to push for a first team place.

Also there is Paul Connolly (Sports Scientist), Guy Proctor (Physiotherapist), Jim Barrow (Masseur), and Arnold Welling (Lifestyle Coach). It’s apparently Arnold who spends most time with the gaffer and his assistant! Peter Fox also plays an important role in coaching the goalkeepers, scouting and mentoring players.

Will Buckley is leading the line of YTS players at Spotland at this current moment on in time. His impressive pre-season form has caught the management’s eye and they’ll be looking to progress him as a professional.

Keith Hill and Flickers are extremely happy with the first team, and barring a couple of niggling injuries, they are more than happy with the preparation since May. Joe Thompson is back in training, whilst Stanton is around three to four weeks away from a first team start. Glenn Murray is building his fitness by the day, and his sharpness is coming back in leaps and bounds. What Chris Dagnall and Adam le Fondre may lack in height, they make in heart, work rate and skill and are just as important to the squad as every other player.

Ellis is really impressed with Daggers, Alfie and Higginbotham and the work rate they have shown, they always come in and do everything you ask of them.

Prendergast is another talented player and a member of the club, he offers competition for places with Adam Rundle, Joe Thompson and Jerome Watt, and there is never enough competition for any position.

Hill never had any doubt about David Perkins, have played with him at Morecambe, he knew exactly what he’d get from Perkins. Other clubs may have had their doubts about his size but he more than makes up for it. Perkins is with us for the current season, and he might have seen as a rough diamond by other clubs, but that’s another thing we always look for, a rough diamond or perhaps a player who doesn’t quite fit in with a club’s plans.

The club’s bid for the 45% share that Hornets have of Spotland is of good value and the club have no intention of getting rid of the Hornets. The club would instead lease the ground back to the Hornets, and hope that the Council will surrender the remaining 10%, with it being no use when Rochdale have 90%.

Keith and Dave always keep in contact with the targets, Adam le Fondre being a good example where they never lost touch, and will “talk a player into submission” so that he signs for the club. It also helps with the board and everyone at the club offering the ‘full’ package which is what players seek.

“It annoys me when people say we lack experience” started Flickers. If you want to make connections, you make them through your career and through what you do after you stop playing. We’ve been in the game for a long number of years so it’s not a case of having no experience in management at all. If you want to do things you’ll do it. All this backroom staff and science is an option, you can either do it, or ignore it. We chose to do it, as we’re not afraid of work, and every time we wake up it’s a case of another day and another chance to make progress. If you don’t you’ve pretty much wasted the day.

Enthusiasm will play a key part as the season goes on, around the January period, players can start to tire, and their enthusiasm and motivation levels may start to drop. It’s our job to keep them fired up, just as it is for the players to keep us fired up. The relationship between players and staff is second to none, and I wouldn’t swap anyone at this moment in time. But in saying that, when it comes to January, you need to add new faces, and to keep the club moving forward. And that’s something we’ll be actively looking to do, using the loan market to hopefully the same success as we did last season.

The club have given Keith Hill and Flickers their opportunity to show what they can do in management, and the relationship is down to trust. The clubs aim is to be successful and we have three years to honour. Whether any happen in the future, that’s football, we might not do a very good job and get sacked. Either way it’s about laying foundations.

When Hill and Flickers took over in December, there main target was keeping Dale up and reaching that fifty points mark. So in that respect, last season was a definite success. This season’s aim is promotion, however that’s what we’re aiming for with “little aims.” The first of the little aims, is safety once again, passing the 50 points mark. But as the season progresses, you may find yourselves struggling at the bottom needing every point possible. We’ll constantly review and set new aims and keep building up to what is the main target. The clubs got to keep making new targets, and once we reach them it’s important that we don’t dwell on the success, instead we set more targets and keep on making progress.

Peterborough are going to be a tough opposition on Saturday, and we don’t have too much of a clue as to how they’ll line up and we don’t think Darren Ferguson has either. That’s not meaning anything against him, but he’s got a 27 man strong squad there so we really don’t know what to expect. What we do know is, if we finish two points either side of Peterborough this season, then we’re going to have a successful campaign.

The club has sold just fewer than 1,100 season tickets this pre-season so far, which is a record in itself and this is a massive help to covering the cost of an expanding squad, both on and off the field. The club has also sold in excess of 1,900 shirts this season, which everyone is extremely pleased with. And the club has no idea as to at what amount the shirts will stop selling. Perhaps the friendly prices were a little harsh, but it was £10 in the Sandy Lane end, which was charged last season, and the club has to find ways of covering the costs, when there’s been no match day income since May.

Photo: Action Images

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