Life at the top would be grand for Rochdale - if they could find another thousand fans.

Steve Parkin’s side has played its way to the top of the third division in style, as well as knocking Huddersfield out of the Worthington Cup and frightening the posh pants off Fulham.

But the Dale revival has yet to spark the imagination of the townsfolk – and David Kirkpatrick does not blame them one bit.

He said: “If we had another 900 supporters on top of the 3,200 we have been getting, it would make all the difference – an extra £10,000 every home game adds up to a lot of money at the end of the season.

“ But we have had a lot of false dawns in the past. I understand that people feel that we have let them down in the past, and we have to prove ourselves before our gate starts to grow.

“ A lot of people at the Fulham game were the type who will not come back on a Saturday. I know quite a few Manchester United and Burnley fans came to watch us for a start.”

Platform

The cup game with Premiership moneybags Fulham provided the perfect platform for Dale to show what they can do, and with 6,300 in Spotland, Steve Parkin’s men rose to the occasion and came within a minute of knocking Jean Tigana’s men out.

By the following Saturday, for the game against Scunthorpe, the attendance had slipped back down to 3,500.

But due to past false dawns for Dale, Kirkpatrick does not want to bang the drum too loudly.

“ Last season, we had a horrendous January and February but it was no secret at the time that we badly needed another striker and we finally got Paul Connor late in the season.

Now Kirkpatrick and everyone at the club is hoping they have a little luck - when you are operating in the lower leagues with a small squad, a good run free from injuries makes all the difference.

The chairman also places great faith in Parkin, who turned the headlong dive down the table into a late season surge, only to be cruelly thwarted ion the last day.

He says: “ That was a devastating day, and after a game like that you can either finish the following season second-bottom or second-top.

“ It is down to how people are motivated, and Steve has shown that there is a tremendous commitment to build on last season.”

Will the current Dale revival prove another false dawn, or do Steve Parkin’s men have what it takes to finally leave Division Three behind? Let us know your views

Tweet