SWINDON Town head coach Scott Lindsey says he is unsure why managerless Rochdale are yet to pick up a win so far and insists Saturday’s clash will “not be easy.”

Rochdale sacked manager Robbie Stockdale on Thursday evening after the club maintained its 100 per cent losing start in League Two following defeat to Stevenage on Tuesday.

Town’s upcoming opponents have not scored a league goal since their opening-day 2-1 defeat to Crewe Alexandra, although they did beat Burton Albion 2-0 in the first round of the League Cup.

Speaking in Town’s pre-match press conference – before news of Stockdale’s departure broke – Lindsey admitted his surprise at Dale’s poor start and says the Lancashire club poses many threats to his team.

Lindsey said: “I know they’ve not had a great start, but they’re difficult opponents – there are no easy games at this level.

“They’re very good with the ball, and they’re quite expansive, actually. They’ve got some really good individual players who can hurt you. This game is not going to be easy.

“I don’t know why they haven’t picked any points up yet because they’re a really good side – having watched them – but I’m sure they’ll get off and running eventually, but hopefully not on Saturday!”

Town are likely to have plenty of the ball on Saturday, and Lindsey asked for a touch more patience from the crowd than some showed against Leyton Orient in midweek when boos and grumbles emerged from the stands after a brief spell of keep-ball.

Lindsey explained that while – to some – it may seem like his players are treading water, they are controlling the game and waiting for gaps to arrive so that they can pounce.

The Town boss said: “We’re going to try and be dominant with the ball, and sometimes we have to go backwards twice to go forwards three times, if that makes sense.

“I’d ask that the fans don’t get frustrated by the times that we do go backwards. Sometimes we have to, in order to get that control and assert our dominance in the deeper areas of the pitch.

“We sometimes have to play backwards because it creates spaces.

“If we could move the ball forwards in one pass and give it to Harry McKirdy, and he could tap it in the net then we’d do it every time.

“But unfortunately there are 11 other players out there who are stopping you from doing that. They condense spaces, so by playing backwards it opens the pitch for us to attack.”