Rochdale has confirmed the sacking of first-team manager Jim Bentley, after seven months in charge of the League Two club, as confirmed in a statement on the club’s website.
Joining the club at the start of the season in August, the Dale are bottom of League Two with eight games remaining in the season.
Following a 2-0 defeat to fellow strugglers Crawley on the weekend, Rochdale decided to part ways with the former Morecambe man, alongside assistant manager Nick Chadwick.
Being 10 points away from safety with an extra game played over their competitors as well, the Lancashire side has also announced Jim McNulty will take charge on an interim basis until the end of the season.
With just one win in their last 13 games, Rochdale has been on a steady decline this season, with a strong finish to the season needed if they want to avoid relegation from the Football League.
Speaking on the news, the club said: “We would like to place on record our thanks to Jim and Nick and wish them every success in the future.”
As Rochdale spend the next few months fighting to avoid relegation to the National League, here are some potential replacements for the managerial job in the summer.
Matthew Etherington
A former Premier League player, Etherington was most recently Crawley’s boss earlier this season, before his sudden departure after three games.
During his three games in charge, the ex-forward saw one victory and two defeats in South London and has experience as assistant manager for Peterborough United under Darren Ferguson.
For whatever reason things didn’t work out behind the scenes at Crawley, so if Etherington wanted another shot at things, Rochdale could be a good destination.
Chris Millington
The only name on the list in a current managerial job, Millington is in charge of National League side Halifax Town.
The 55-year-old has gone through the ranks of coaching and even has a win away to Premier League Fulham in the FA Cup, whilst in interim charge of Oldham back in 2019.
With three years of experience in the National League, in which he has helped the Shaymen to the playoffs two times, Millington could be a name to watch out for if he is tempted away from his current club.
Paul Tisdale
Tisdale has spent plenty of time coaching across League 1 and 2, however, has been out of a job for over a year following his departure from Stevenage.
Tending to struggle in relegation fights, Tisdale may be a good appointment if Rochdale, unfortunately, does find themselves in the National League next season. With over 700 games of experience as a manager, the ex-Exeter man could bring a breath of fresh air to try and change things at Rochdale.
Writer’s View
The move to sack Bentley feels right, however, should have been done a few months ago.
Knowing a relegation fight was on their hands for a while and negative results still consistently happening, Rochdale now finds themselves in a relegation scrap which may be too much to come back from.
With an interim manager already in place, it means they can take their time to find a new permanent manager, but by that stage, they may just be out of the Football League, therefore limiting their options.