Rochdale boss Keith Hill believes AFC Wimbledon deserve “credit” for the way their have adapted to life in League One.
The Dons were promoted to English football’s third tier at the end of last season – their first spell at this level.
Neal Ardley’s men have enjoyed a successful debut campaign in the division and currently sit 13 with seven games remaining.
Rochdale are the visitors to the Cherry Red Records Stadium tonight (Tuesday) and Hill has nothing but praise for his opponents.
“It’s a very difficult league and it’s a different kettle of fish from League Two,” he told the Rochdale website.
“When you get promoted, you have to consolidate and you have to reach the 50 points mark as quickly as you possibly can or you can get sucked into a relegation battle.
“A relegation battle shouldn’t be termed or deemed from the last 10 games only. You’re always fighting relegation from the get-go when you’ve just been promoted, unless you’re a massive club who are going to go through the leagues.
“I think they’ve adjusted superbly well and they deserve credit. They’ve got good management, they’ve recruited really well and they’re a good opponent for any League One side. That’s testament to the way that they’ve adjusted.”
Rochdale are just outside the play-offs in eighth place, and Hill is looking for maximum points from tonight’s fixture.
“We’ve just got to concentrate on trying to accumulate as many points as we can,” he said. “My target is to try and win 19 games in a League One season and to try and supersede last season’s 69 points or finish in a higher position than year.
“We need points if we’re going to achieve any of those ambitions. We go into every game trying to win it and it won’t be any different on Tuesday night.
“With respect to the play-offs, we’re just focusing in on the games and the mini-group of games that we’ve got left to play. We’ll have had seven games this month, including against AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday night, then we’ll roll into April and we’ll see where we are with respect to points.
“The games are coming thick and fast, which is good. It’s hard as well for the players but we’re looking forward to them.”
