No doubts we can beat Dale - Clarke

POINTING THE WAY . . . Athletic captain Peter Clarke

BELIEF is strong in the Athletic camp that they can land another positive away-day result at Spotland tomorrow.

Heading into the Rochdale derby with only one defeat in the last six away from SportsDirect.com Park - the 2-0 loss at second-placed Bolton - a team that appears at home on its travels is hunting down three points that should lift the club out of the bottom four.

"It's a derby fixture and the form book tends to go out of the window," said Athletic's captain Peter Clarke.

"The games are won and lost in the two penalty areas, more often than not, and it's a case of tidying up on that a bit.

"Individuals will look at themselves and try to improve on it in training sessions and if we can click into gear at the other end, it gives us a real opportunity to go and win the game - and we certainly believe we can do tomorrow."

Clarke is no stranger to Spotland, having played there twice last season while captaining Bury.

While he experienced a 3-0 defeat in the league encounter back in March, he also knows what it is like to win at Rochdale on their own turf and anticipates a loud reception.

"We actually played them in the second round of the FA Cup last year as well as in a league fixture and managed to win (1-0)," he added.

"I'm sure there will be plenty of Athletic fans at the game making a lot of noise. The stands are close to the pitch and it should make for a really good derby atmosphere.

"We believe we can go there and come away with the result that we want."

Clarke also reflected on the home loss to Bristol Rovers last week and stated his ambition for teams to dread travelling to face Athletic.

"After such a positive performance and positive result, to not follow it up is disappointing," said the skipper, in reference to the previous home victory over league leaders Scunthorpe.

"Again, there was very little between the two sides in the game and we perhaps played marginally the better stuff.

"But when the balls went into the box, we didn't have an end product and there were a couple of lapses in concentration from set pieces that have cost us dear.

"We went into it in good form and so to lose in front of our own fans is very disappointing.

"We want to give them plenty to shout about and want to make Boundary Park a fortress, so that there is a fear factor for teams knowing that it is going to be a really tough place to come and play their football."

Tomorrow's fixtures in Sky Bet League One (3pm unless stated) -

Oxford v Millwall (1pm); AFC Wimbledon v Bradford; Bolton v Port Vale; Bristol Rovers v Peterborough; Charlton v Chesterfield; Fleetwood v Gillingham; Northampton v Bury; Rochdale v Oldham; Scunthorpe v Swindon; Sheff Utd v MK Dons; Southend v Shrewsbury; Walsall v Coventry.

ATHLETIC fans can now pay on the day to gain entry to the Rochdale game.

Tickets will be available at the away ticket booth and at the study centre on Willbutts Lane adjacent to the chip shop.

However, Athletic are encouraging fans to get tickets from the SportsDirect.com Park ticket office before today's 3pm deadline to avoid queues.

Prices are £22 adults, £16 over-65s and under-16s and £5 under-16s.