Preview: Rochdale v Workington

Rochdale coach John Stankevitch has a major headache after 12 players contracted a flu-like virus.

Stankevitch said: “We only had 20 players able to train on Tuesday night, which is the lowest by far since I’ve joined the club.”

The Hornets coach is himself suffering from the bug but hopes a handful of players can recover by Sunday.

He added: “We were disappointed (at Blackpool) last week. It was the most disappointing performance since I’ve been here. We didn’t do the basics right. You can’t compete when you throw away that much ball.”

He continued: “I don’t know how the bookies are coming up with odds because on any day anybody can beat any other side.

“Workington have got really strong half backs and as a team they live off completing their sets.”

Jack Pedley returns from a bout of tonsillitis. Workington coach Gary Charlton said: “Jack trained on Tuesday and he’s fine.”

Charlton added: “We know it’s going to be tough for us, going away from home, but if we’re going to win our away games then we need to play for 80 minutes rather than the 40 we managed against York last week.”