League Two 2026-27 season preview: Club-by-club guide to new campaign

Michael Clarke, BBC Radio Manchester

Manager: Ian Watson

Last season: 2nd in the National League (won play-off final)

Key ins: Laurence Maguire (MK Dons, free), Sam Sherring (MK Dons, free), Zain Silcott-Duberry (Sheffield Wednesday, free), Dajaune Brown (Derby County, loan), Jonny Smith (Wigan Athletic, free), Kaiden Wilson (Chelsea, loan), Nils Ramming (Brighton, loan), Cian Hayes (Peterborough United, undisclosed), Sam Waller (Harrogate Town, free), Jake Spaven (Wigan Athletic, free)

Key outs: Kyron Gordon (Stockport, free), Liam Humbles (Altrincham, undisclosed), Aidan Barlow (Altrincham, free), David Tutonda (Accrington Stanley, free), Tarryn Allarakhia (Boreham Wood, free), Tyler Smith (Derry City, free)

What are the expectations heading into the season? Survival scrap. With a new manager, a new system and some new signings, a season where Dale can consolidate their place in League Two is the primary objective, however they’ll quietly hope for more.

After an impressive 106 league points amassed in the National League last season, and only narrowly missing out on the title on the final day, they showed spirit to gather themselves, reach Wembley and even overcome a 2-0 deficit in the play-off final to tie the game and eventually beat Boreham Wood on penalties.

What are the major strengths of the team to help them achieve that? A young, hungry squad who will hope to utilise pace and width to provide plenty of service to Mani Dieseruvwe, who scored 28 goals across all competitions for Rochdale last season.

And what are the underlying weaknesses that could hold them back? It’s early days, but so far Dale have struggled defensively with individual errors seeing them gift goals during pre-season and in their first two competitive matches of the campaign in the EFL Cup.

However, I think it’s only fair to point out that we haven’t seen what Ian Watson believes is his best XI yet, owing to injuries and players arriving who aren’t fully match fit.

Who’s a player to look out for this season who could be a difference-maker? While many will understandably point to Dieseruvwe, I’m looking forward to seeing more of Zain Silcott-Duberry.

He scored off the bench on his debut against Tranmere in the preliminary round of the EFL Cup and he has the potential to really excite the fans. If he can find consistency, the former Bournemouth man could be a real menace to defenders in League Two.