Fleetwood 1 Dale 2 - movin' on up...

Okay, 16th place may not seem like much to shout about but given where Dale were just a few short weeks ago, it is a big step forward.

A 2-1 victory at Fleetwood Town – Dale’s third in their last four League Two games and their first on the road this season – reinforced the belief that Ian Watson’s side are starting to turn a corner.

Here’s a look at a few key points to emerge from a fruitful trip to the Fylde coast…

Believe it or not, we are still less than three weeks removed from the Rochdale board having to make a statement backing Watson just five league games into his tenure amid significant fan pressure.

We are still in the same month as the hostile post-match scenes following the defeat to Gillingham which saw vocal chants for Watson’s removal.

That feels further and further away with every result – it is still premature to say that he has completely won the fanbase over, but it is probably fair to say he is no longer dangling dangerously over the precipice.

And there are signs that things are continuing to progress in terms of performance despite a constant flow of injuries that shows no sign of ending (more on that shortly) – the start of both halves at Highbury Stadium featured some of the most convincing football Watson’s Dale side have played and they arguably should have been more comfortable on the scoreboard.

And when they were forced to dig in following Tobi Adebayo-Rowling’s red card, they did just that as they have been doing for several weeks now and whilst ever a fanbase can see their team is willing to go into the trenches for them and each other, they will have their support.

And the upshot of it all is that Dale are now actually as close to the automatic promotion spots as they are to the relegation zone. Quite the turnaround!

Aden Flint’s impact on Rochdale has, to date, been transformational.

Having stepped into a defence that was leaking goals for fun – and really soft ones at that – he has brought experience, steel and leadership.

In the three games he has played, Dale have picked up seven points from nine available and conceded only once – nobody can argue with that.

And he’s now started contributing at the other end, too, with the finish to put Dale 2-0 up on Saturday being one of a seasoned centre-forward.

Okay, the goal that broke Flint’s perfect record was still pretty soft as Mark Helm was given the freedom of the Fylde coast to waltz up to the edge of the box and pick his spot, but that was probably more a failing of those in front of him.

His impact on Kaiden Wilson is getting more and more visible, too, with the Chelsea loanee continuing to grow in stature and confidence. After all, he has come to Rochdale to learn and there are few more knowledgeable teachers about the art of lower-league defending than Flint.

As things stand, Flint is only here until January but such has been his impact, making sure his spell stretches until the end of the season has to be a priority.

While we’re talking about recent additions to the defence, a word for Charlie Tasker who has been hugely impressive at right-back since joining on deadline day on loan from Brighton.

He arrived highly-rated by those on the south coast, and it is easy to see why.

Tasker’s fellow deadline-day arrival Glenn Middleton is also starting to show that, amid a plethora of wing options, his spot on the left-wing can be almost cemented.

While being as skilful and tricky as any winger should be, the Scotsman’s USP is a final ball that rarely misses and on Saturday, one finally created a goal.

His early cross from the left was sumptuous – a striker’s dream that simply begged to be finished, and Dajaune Brown obliged.

It wasn’t the easiest of finishes for the Derby loanee to control, but he did so well as another sign of his growing confidence.

Brown has now doubled his EFL goals tally in the last two weeks and while he’s scoring, his place in the team will get more and more secure.

He will feel unfortunate not to have added a second goal too in the second half as he couldn’t make decisive contact with a diving header, although he was clearly pulled back and Dale can feel aggrieved not to have been awarded a penalty.

Just as Watson will have felt close to turning a corner in terms of the injury nightmare gripping his team as well as results, he has had several more cruel blows struck.

Indeed, it has now got to the point at which you may wonder whether Dale have made some kind of deal with the devil in return for restoring their EFL status, and that Beelzebub is now collecting his debt…

The cruellest of them all has befallen Dan Moss, who is now facing the prospect of a season that was showing real promise being over having suffered the dreaded ACL injury.

Rumours that the popular defender had suffered an injury swirled pre-match and were seemingly confirmed by his absence from the team sheet, with Watson then revealing the grim diagnosis in his post-match interview.

The fact he actually suffered the injury during his goalscoring display against Oldham last week and carried on for a while underlines why he is so popular with the fanbase, and why his absence will now be such a crushing blow.

That came after losing a player in the warm-up for the second game in a row – Nils Ramming was the victim this time after Laurence Maguire had pulled out just before the EFL Trophy game against Liverpool under 21s in midweek, with the latter now facing another lengthy spell out with a torn calf.

Adebayo-Rowling will now have to serve a one-match suspension to reduce stocks even further but if Dale can keep picking up results in situations like this, it bodes well for when options start to fill out again.