Robbie Stockdale: Rochdale sack manager after starting with four league defeats

Robbie Stockdale represented Scotland five times in his playing career

Rochdale have parted company with manager Robbie Stockdale after 13 months with the League Two club.

Dale have lost all four of their league fixtures so far this season and are bottom of the fourth tier.

The 42-year-old was appointed by Dale in July 2021 and leaves the club along with his assistant Jimmy Shan.

"The board would like to place on record its thanks to Robbie and Jimmy, and wish them every success in the future," the club said in a statement.

Stockdale is the first manager to be sacked in England's top five divisions this season.

Dale's only win has come against Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup on 9 August, with Stockdale saying after Tuesday's defeat by Stevenage that he understood fan frustrations around their poor start to the season.

"There are a lot of positives," Stockdale told BBC Radio Manchester after what proved to be his final match in charge.

"I know it doesn't look like that now, but there are. The biggest thing from me to the players is they have got to believe in themselves and I'll make sure I put that belief into them."

Under Stockdale this season, Rochdale have scored just one League Two goal and are the only English Football League side without a point.

Having previously had three spells in caretaker charge of Sunderland, as well as working as assistant to Paul Heckingbottom at Hibernian and Sam Allardyce at West Bromwich Albion, Rochdale was Stockdale's first managerial position.

He took over from Brian Barry-Murphy in the summer of 2021 and led them to an 18th-place finish in their first season back in the fourth tier, after relegation from League One in 2020-21.

Analysis - 'Rochdale's board have decided to act'

BBC Radio Manchester's Bill Rice

Robbie Stockdale arrived as Rochdale boss last summer following their relegation from League One, saying the board's vision matched his own.

In his first managerial role, the former Middlesbrough midfielder said he came to win, but managed just 16 victories in 59 games in charge - not helped by losing key players such as Matty Lund, Ollie Rathbone and Aaron Morley.

Dale finished 18th last season, and after last season's player of the year Eoghan O'Connell went to Charlton, the start to the current campaign has been even worse, with four defeats leaving them bottom without a point, and despite Stockdale trying to pick out the positives, the board decided to act.