O'Grady came through the youth system at Leicester City

Rochdale striker Chris O'Grady has praised management duo Keith Hill and David Flitcroft for the impact they have had at the club and on his career.

The 24-year-old signed for Dale in January after an initial loan spell and has scored 27 goals in 56 starts.

He told BBC Radio Manchester: "The management team get the best out of me, they make me feel part of the team and I'm enjoying playing for them.

"It's not by accident we've got the results we've got."

He added: "They identify your strengths and weaknesses and make you work at them.

"Also the mental side is quite important and they're just a lot more thorough than any other management team I've ever been at."

The Nottingham-born striker has struggled to settle at previous clubs, spending time at nine different football league sides despite being just 24.

O'Grady now though appears to be settled at Spotland and is setting his sights higher than just League One.

"The management team are a Championship management team and a lot of our players are Championship players and that's everyone's goal here to make it to where we belong," O'Grady said

"We've set a foundation now after six games where we're quite high up and we don't plan on it tailing off and want to maintain this."

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