Building on year of progression at Crown Oil Arena the plan for Dale

Playing surface problems to be tackled for the short-term via pitch renovation work and rain covers with club not in position to outlay £1.5m cost of complete rebuild

- RICHARD PARTINGTON

Cameron Ogden has revealed the club's plans to cope with the rigours of winter and the seasonal impact it has on the Crown Oil Arena playing surface in a summer update to supporters.

Mr Ogden spoke positively of the club's performance on and off the field throughout the 2024/25 season, noting the considerable progress made over the course of a year since the uncertainty of early 2024 when the club’s very future was in doubt.

Having come through those choppy waters, the football club has stabilised and is once again building towards future success.

Dale reached the playoffs and the semi-final of the FA Trophy under Jim McNulty’s leadership last season and, while both big games went the way of the opposition, it marked significant growth for the club.

“Now that some time has passed since the end of the season, I wanted to reflect on the 24/25 campaign and provide an update on current activities at the Club,” Mr Cameron said.

“As I mentioned in my previous communication, it is easy to forget how difficult the situation was at the Club this time last year.

“Aside from the financial position, which was clear to all, the internal operations at the Club had necessarily been stripped back to the bare essentials, and many of the staff were going above and beyond just to keep the Club functioning at a basic level.

“Given the amount of work that would be required to build back the core internal operations at the Club, my main concern on the footballing front was to ensure stability and ideally push for a playoff place, which would represent tangible improvement on the 23/24 season.

“With that in mind, I am very pleased with how the team performed.

“A fourth-placed finish is an excellent result and an FA Trophy semi-final to boot.

“Inevitably, when you come so close to even greater success, the satisfaction is tempered especially given how close we were to winning both of those key games.