Dale will meet a new EFL referee on Tuesday when Robert Jones takes charge of their League One fixture at Port Vale.

The Liverpool official is in his first season on the referees’ list, but this will already be his fourth appointment since promotion.

He began the campaign with Newport v Mansfield in League Two and followed that up with Walsall v Yeovil in the cup last Tuesday and Notts County v Stevenage on Saturday.

Mr Jones moved up from refereeing in the National League last season, where he was rated as the leading match official.

His campaign culminated at Wembley where he was in charge of the Forest Green v Grimsby play-off final that saw The Mariners promoted to League Two.

He had also been appointed to Leyton Orient v Staines in the first round of the FA Cup and ran the line at Wembley for Barnsley v Millwall in the League One play-off final.

Photo: Action Images

Rochdale Polls