Dean Smith: Saddlers have hunger for success

The Saddlers have impressed in victories over Nottingham Forest and Southend and boss Smith hopes they can submit another encouraging performance at Spotland.

With midfielder Sam Mantom claiming there is a "different feel" to the club this year, the manager agrees there is a positive mood at the Banks's.

"I think that is the key," he said. "We want to go into every game and win it and the players seem hungry to do that," said Smith.

"They are all a year older, a year better. They all have good and bad experiences on which to look back on. They are a year wiser too."

Having won their opening two league fixtures, Keith Hill's Rochdale will pose a stern examination of the Saddlers credentials.

They were beaten 4-0 in the same fixture last season, a night Smith admits to being one of the "lowlights" of his four-and-a-half year reign.

"They probably took us a bit by surprise and they could have beaten us by a lot more," he said.

"We probably didn't realise how good they were but it did give the players a valuable lesson on how hard this league can be if you are not on your game."

Smith will assess the fitness of his squad before deciding whether to make any changes from the side which won in such fine fashion at Southend on Saturday.

The manager has switched his starting line-up and tactics around in the opening three fixtures but admits this has been in part to deal with the physical effects of a fixture list which contains midweek games for the season's opening four weeks.

"I don't really want to make changes but I have to go on how the players are," he said.

"Fortunately I feel I have a strong bench and I can change a few things around if needed."