Meeting a squad of players for the very first time can be a seriously daunting prospect for any manager. They don't know you and you don't know them so it's vital that the tone of your introductory message hits the right spot. Get it right and you'll have most of the players on your side. Get it wrong and you're likely to face plenty of problems in the team spirit department. Your name will be mud for weeks to come.

That's why I realise it can't have been easy for John Coleman to make the switch from Accrington Stanley to Rochdale last week after so many years in the same job. There he will have known everything inside out yet he is starting from scratch at Spotland with a team and a division that he barely knows.

I remember introducing myself to the Huddersfield Town squad and it was really nerve-racking. I didn't know everybody's name and at that stage I certainly didn't know the personalities of the guys that were staring back at me from the floor.

The key to making a good first impression was to give them a balanced, light-hearted message I felt. If you go in with all guns blazing, warning them about this and that it can easily back fire on you, so I preferred to project an upbeat image and try and have a few laughs as I got the information across.

You also have to be careful not to speak for too long as well. It's tempting to tell the players everything you want them to know right away but having been a footballer myself I knew that they would get the right hump and switch off if I banged on for too long.

I don't know how John fared with that opening speech but the reaction he got on Saturday in his side's 3-0 win over Bury was excellent. Rochdale and Brazil aren't often seen in the same sentence together but that's who John compared his side's exciting football to. I just hope he isn't expecting that level every single week now!

That's not to say that Rochdale don't have good players because they do, and it's not unusual to hear people praising them for the way they go about their game. They certainly have the ability to pull themselves out of relegation trouble between now and the end of the season.

Off the field it's been a hectic week up and down the country, especially inside the club offices where secretaries and chief executives have been frantically arranging a raft of deadline day transfers.

One of the top signings of the window in my view is Alan Smith's arrival at the MK Dons. It was a loan deal that didn't appear to be feasible given his high wages but it seems the chairman and Newcastle United came to a fair deal in the end and that's brilliant news for Karl Robinson and his squad.

I know Smithy well from my time at Leeds United and I love him to bits. Any team that's chasing promotion could do with an Alan Smith in their side. He's a natural born winner. I know that his enthusiasm and desire to win has earned him too many yellow and red cards over the years but he's a wonderful lad that can bring some special qualities to the dressing room.

As well as possessing obvious class as a player, he is also flexible enough to play in midfield or attack too which will give the manager nice options. But it's in that dressing room where I expect Smithy to have his greatest influence. Hopefully his work ethic and passion will rub off on everyone around him.

This week hasn't all been about npower League 1 though as Chesterfield will testify having reached the final of the Johnstone Paints Trophy at Wembley.

Their two-legged success over Oldham Athletic was bitter sweet for me because as everyone knows I'm a Latics man, but despite feeling disappointed for them I am also chuffed to bits for my old mucker John Sheridan.

It's been a difficult season for 'Shez' and they have a major fight on their hands to stay in the division but you just can't beat a Wembley final and it will feel fantastic now that he knows he's guided his side there.

The town will be buzzing and so will the players, so perhaps that feel-good factor will help inspire them to improved performances in the league as they bid to scramble their way out of the bottom four.

My next job is to get on the phone to Shez, as I'd love him to get me a ticket to the final…