Stephen Dooley is loving life at Rochdale

The Bannsiders won the replay, but lost the final to Linfield in the May of that year, Dooley though had made a major impression.

The flying winger played three more seasons with his home town club before moving to America on a scholarship.

A brief stint back at The Showgrounds in 2014 was followed by spells with Derry City and Cork City in the League of Ireland before he returned for a third spell with Coleraine in 2018.

He played his part in helping Oran Kearney’s men win the Irish Cup and go agonisingly close to winning their first League title since 1974.

But he was on the move again this time to England as he secured a deal with League One outfit Rochdale.

The 28-year-old is enjoying life with the Dale. At Spotland he is plying his trade with a player who is currently on a similar trajectory that Dooley was some 12 years ago.

Back in September 16-year-old Luke Matheson scored the equaliser for Rochdale in their third round tie against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Dale eventually lost 5–3 on penalties but Matheson made a big impression, so much so that Wolves signed Matheson for £1million during the January transfer window.

The defender will remain on loan with Rochdale for the rest of the season before making the permanent switch to Molineux.

Dooley knows it will be tough for his team-mate to break into the Premiership side, but he is backing him to make a big impression.

“Luke has burst onto the scene this year and obviously scored that goal which gave him notoriety.

“He’s been brilliant for us particularly in big games and rightfully got his chance at a big club. It will be tough for him to break into the starting team at Wolves but it would be amazing to see. He’s really young and has the time to progress.

“Everyone at Rochdale will wish him well at the end of the season and hopefully he will go on to have a long and successful career.”

As well as playing at Old Trafford, which was a special moment for United supporter Dooley, Rochadale also played Newcastle United at St James Park after holding them to a draw at Spotland.

“Overall it’s been a very memorable year for playing at incredible stadia,” he said.

“Being a United fan it was amazing right from when the draw was made. Just an honour to play there given the history of the club and the club I have supported all my life.

“It would have been nice to play a better game myself but so great to have my family and friends come over and enjoy the day out as well.”

Dale find themselves four points clear of the relegation spots in League One, but Dooley is confident they can secure another season in the division, especially after penning a new deal with the club.

“It’s been a tough and very challenging two years but a good two years and despite being low positioned in the league I feel I have learned a lot,” he said.

“I definitely felt I wanted another year to see what I could give so I was delighted when I got the chance to sign a new contract.

“Yeah we are down near the bottom of the table again but I think we all believe we can come together and remain in the league again this year similar to last.”

Rochdale’s survival bid has been put on hold for a while as Dooley and every other footballer are on an enforced break due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The players have been given some time off to recover before starting the hard work again.

“We were approaching the latter part of the season and a lot of us were a bit run down,” Dooley said.

“Nobody knows what the future holds in terms of finishing this season or when next season will start but our usual longer summer is most likely going to be cut very short.

“So we have been given a week or so off and then a return to training program similar to returning after the summer break.

“I decided to return home to isolate with the family. It looked like this could be a lot longer that was initially predicted and I felt it would be better to be home with company rather than by myself in Rochdale waiting for a return date that might not be for a very long time.

“As I am still in recovery and rest mode my days are extremely low key right now. Plenty of Dog walks as my exercise for the day and chalking off TV series on Netflix. Then I’ll start getting back into my program which will allow me to fill my time more appropriately.

“Everyone is in a Whatsapp group together so we know of any big impending changes as they happen. I keep in touch with the ones I would be closest with and see how they are managing their time. It’s also good to take the time away from the group and have a bit of a rethink and refocus.

“It’s a really unprecedented and challenging time and we have to help each other through it.”

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