Dale will meet a new referee on Saturday when Lee Collins takes charge of the home game against Blackpool.

Indeed, Saturday will also mark Mr Collins’ first Blackpool game as well, with the fact he is based in Surrey reducing the chances of refereeing clubs from the north.

Lee is actually in his fifth season on the referees’ list and has spent most of that time officiating in the bottom two divisions.

He started out with Gillingham v Cheltenham in August 2011 and has refereed at the majority of Football League grounds in the south of England, with occasional forays north of Watford!

One of those was earlier this season for the FA Cup replay between Oldham and Mansfield at Boundary Park, while Mr Collins’ last game was Peterborough v Crewe a fortnight ago.

Altogether, Lee has taken charge of 19 games this season, showing 75 yellow cards and two red.

Photo: Action Images

Rochdale Polls