Adamant Alan Kilshaw is convinced Rochdale can avoid relegation.
The Hornets will start their Championship Shield campaign five points adrift of safety with just seven games to play.
Kilshaw has overseen a tough year a Rochdale which has seen the club endure financial troubles and a fixture backlog that has put them on the back foot since the start of the season.
However, despite the odds being stacked against them, Kilshaw is positive they can secure a dramatic escape from the drop.
“Going into the Shield last year we were more or less safe,” he said.
“We were a little bit edgy but we only won one in the Shield last year because we were a little bit busted, where this year we’re stronger. We’re glad for the week off because we’ve not had a week off due to the cancellation of games and we got to the second stage of the cup. We’ve not had a week off since January so we’ll have one and it’ll do us good.
“Three or four wins and it’s a different beast altogether. We can catch Barrow I think and we catch Dewsbury.
“We’ve to beat the teams around us and focus on us.”
