Hecklers won’t put me off - Roper

OLD HAND . . . derbies are nothing new to Steve Roper.

ANY derby-day sledging aimed at Steve Roper by Rochdale fans will fall on deaf ears.

"I won't hear anything. I'll be concentrating on my own game and on my team's performance," said Oldham half-back.

He will be back at Spotland tomorrow, in Oldham colours for the first time since laving Hornets to sign for their biggest rivals last season.

He played 86 times in Rochdale's red, white and blue and in his five years for Hornets he turned out almost a dozen derby clashes, the most recent in the 2013 Championship One Grand Final when Ian Talbot's men lifted a trophy at Oldham’s expense.

Seven months later Roper was a Roughyed, soon to establish himself at Whitebank as Lewis Palfrey's half-back partner.

He has quickly become one of coach Scott Naylor's tactical generals - a clever player on whom Roughyeds rely to create time and space for left-of-field strike players such as Jon Ford, Josh Crowley and Jarrod Ward.

Looking ahead to a date with his past, 28-year-old Roper said: "I've been eagerly anticipating this game since the fixtures came out. Turning up at Spotland will bring back a lot of memories, but I won't be heading for the home dressing room, that's for sure!

"I don't know how Rochdale fans will react but, to be honest, I won't be listening. My only concerns will be that I am playing well and the Oldham team is going well. It should be a cracking game.

"Our pack is probably the best in the division - a top-notch unit that takes us forward and builds momentum which makes life for a half-back a whole lot easier. We just have to make sure we're on our game and if we are we'll win."