Stockport are one of a cluster of sides hoping for promotion from League One this term after narrowly missing out on a play-off place on the final day last season. County have started the campaign in satisfactory fashion, although last week's shock 4-2 home defeat against Barnet saw the club slip to 12th in the table. Stockport bounced back from that result with a 1-0 victory against Macclesfield in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in midweek and they will be hoping to retain their winning habit when the travel to Darlington on Sunday. Givemefootball’s Mark Shail caught up with striker Liam Dickinson, who returned to first-team action with a goal against Barnet last week after being sidelined for over a month with a broken hand.
Q:YOU MUST BE PLEASED TO BE BACK PLAYING AGAIN?
A:Yes, it's nice to be back because I've had a frustrating time recently. Obviously, it was a disappointing performance and result against Barnet but I was glad to get on as a late substitute and score a goal. It was a scrappy goal but they all count and that makes it three for me so far this season.
Q:HOW DID YOU PICK UP THE INJURY?
A:I went up for a header against Rotherham and landed awkwardly. I heard a crack in my hand and I knew then that something wasn't right. I had it strapped up and tried to play on but I was in so much discomfort I eventually had to come off. I then had an x-ray and was told I had broken two bones in my hand and have since had an operation to insert four pins in the hand.
Q:HOW DOES THE HAND FEEL NOW?
A:It feels great and I was pleased to get 90 minutes under my belt against Macclesfield in the week. It's just good to be back training with the lads again because for the last month or so I've just been running on my own because I wasn't allowed to train with the rest of the squad in case I got a knock on my hand.
Q:WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AHEAD OF THE TRIP TO DARLINGTON?
A:It's going to be a difficult game because they have started well and are currently sitting in third place. They've spent a bit of money over the summer and are one of a number of teams chasing promotion this season. They looked like they would be in the shake-up last year before falling away towards the end. But we've got a decent recent record against Darlington – we beat them twice last season and managed to bang a few goals past them in the process.
Q:HOW DO YOU THINK LEAGUE TWO COMPARES TO LAST SEASON?
A:It's going to be more difficult this year because of the quality of the sides that came down. Bradford and Rotherham haven't started brilliantly but I'm sure they will be a force as the season goes on. But there are a lot of teams thinking about promotion this year (us included) and the most important thing is to pick of results on a consistent basis.
Q:WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF STOCKPORT'S START?
A:It's gone okay so far but last week was obviously a disappointing result. Although we're in 12th place we're still only four points off the play-off places and there's sure to lots of changes in the table before the end of the season. We were gutted to miss out on the play-offs on goal difference last year so we want to go one better this time round.
