Rochdale boss Jimmy McNulty to take charge of 100th league match

Sunday, 4 May 2025 14:59

By Adam Clark

Jimmy McNulty will reach a significant managerial milestone on Monday when he takes charge of Rochdale AFC for the 100th consecutive league match, as Dale travel to Braintree Town.

McNulty, who was appointed permanently as Head Coach in summer 2023 following two interim spells, began his current run of fixtures in April 2023 with a 1-0 win away at AFC Wimbledon.

He ended that season with three wins and just two defeats in eight matches. Since then, he has guided the club to an 11th-place finish in his first full season, and has now secured a fourth-place spot and a playoff berth in the current campaign.

The 40-year-old has delivered impressive results across his 99 league games to date, achieving a 44% win rate — the highest of any Rochdale manager since the Second World War and second overall in club history, trailing only Jack Peart’s 48.5% rate from his tenure between 1923 and 1930.

McNulty’s points-per-game average stands at 1.5, the best in Rochdale’s managerial history. The next best is Keith Hill, whose combined total from two spells at the helm is 1.48.

Defensively, his team has conceded an average of just 1.16 goals per game, a figure bettered only by former boss Len Richley, who oversaw an average of one goal conceded per match.

Going forward, McNulty’s side have averaged 1.52 goals per game, placing him behind only Peart (1.93), Sam Jennings (1.67), and Richley (1.58) for scoring rate among permanent managers.

McNulty, a former Dale defender himself, continues to cement his place in the club’s modern history as Rochdale look to return to the EFL.

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