Fleetwood Town boss won't get caught up in Dale pitch battle

Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino might be up in arms about the state of Rochdale's pitch but Fleetwood head coach Uwe Rosler is having none of it and says he is just focusing on what he can control - his men.

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The state of the Spotland pitch has been brought to national attention by the Tottenham boss as he prepares to take his Premier League side there for an FA Cup fifth round clash.

Pochettino believes it is an unfit playing surface but back in League One Rosler is just focusing on preparing his men as best he can.

He said: “It is very important that we focus on what we can control.

“We cannot control what is going on at Rochdale Football Club, including their facilities.

“That is in the hands of their club, it is in the hands of the referee.

“We are expecting that the game is on, we are expecting a competitive team to play against and that we are competitive.

“It is an important game.”

Town are four points off the drop zone heading to Rochdale while Keith Hill’s side are just a point above bottom-placed Bury.

And Rosler says Town need to be ready for the aggression of Rochdale, who defeated Northampton Town before beating Millwall in the FA Cup in midweek.

They also host a Town team looking to end a five-match losing run.

Rosler said: “Hilly’s teams are always energetic.

“I think they had two good results; one in the cup and one against Northampton.

“They will come again. They will start the game with 100 per cent power and energy and we need to be ready for that aggression.

“We need to counter that with our way of football.

“The game will be decided in the heads.

“Physically we are more than ready, it is just how we cope with that stress factor they try to put on us and how we counter that in terms of how we attack them.”