Hill’s performance not unnoticed

Rochdale caretaker manager Keith Hill has enjoyed a short but successful spell in charge of the club and his team’s performances have not gone unnoticed by the club’s board of directors. The former Rochdale centre half has been in the hot seat for four games now and recent results have caused Chairman Chris Dunphy to defer any decision as to who will be the man to take the reins permanently.

The chairman has called for a meeting to take place today, Tuesday 2 January for further discussions on the vacancy. He told the club’s official website: “I can confirm that Keith [Hill] will be taking charge of team affairs for the trip to Wycombe on Saturday and that I will be speaking to him personally once again tomorrow morning following our meeting this afternoon. As a Board of Directors we are very keen to resolve the managerial position very quickly but we can not ignore recent results.”

Over the weekend it came to light that Dale’s initial target for the position, former Barnsley manager Andy Ritchie, would not be getting the job due to high wage demands and a desire to bring in his own backroom staff; a request that Mr. Dunphy could not vindicate given Hill’s performance in the last few weeks. It is believed that a new man will be asked to accommodate Hill as assistant manager.

That is of course if Hill does not get the job himself after back to back four nil wins boosted his popularity with the fans and forced the Board to seriously consider Hill’s managerial potential. Hill has picked the team that the majority of fans have wanted to see by using two wingers in a 4-4-2 system and the players have responded with two superb displays in gaining Rochdale’s best home win of the season against Boston and following that up with another spectacular display at Grimsby on New Year’s Day; scoring eight goals and keeping two clean sheets in the process.

Those performances caused Mr. Dunphy to announce that Hill will continue in the role as Caretaker for another week, meaning that he will be in charge of this Saturday’s trip to Wycombe Wanderers, a game which could decide whether or not Hill gets the job full time. Despite the two wins, Rochdale still sit just one point above the relegation zone as their rivals also did well over the Festive period with things beginning to tighten at the foot of the table so it is vital that they get something from the tough away fixture.

Speaking after yesterday’s game against Grimsby, Hill told Rochdale Online: “I’m just preparing the lads in the right manner and creating a positive environment and it’s reflected in the performances. The lads have backed up everything we are trying to do and they are getting as much joy out of it as I am.”

If Hill can get one more performance from the players he may find himself enjoying it on a permanent basis.