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McNulty takes over a Stockport side who missed out on promotion from League One in May's play-off final at Wembley, when they were well beaten by near neighbours Bolton.
Prior to his exit, Challinor had been the fifth longest-serving manager in the English Football League (EFL) and won two promotions with Stockport, lifting them from the National League to the third tier.
In the past two seasons, however, they have finished third in League One and missed out on promotion via the play-offs.
Meanwhile, Dale narrowly missed out on automatic promotion from the National League in an thrilling battle with York City, culminating in a dramatic final day draw against the Minstermen, who duly sealed the title at their expense courtesy of a 103rd-minute equaliser.
Undeterred, Rochdale then achieved promotion through the play-offs, but McNulty's side were made to work for it - having come back from 2-0 down to Boreham Wood to take it to 2-2 and extra time, and eventually winning on penalties.
McNulty initially took over at Rochdale on an interim basis as they dropped out of the EFL in 2022-23 and later signed a two-year deal as they began their first non-league campaign.
Having led them to an 11th-place finish in their first season in the National League, McNulty sealed a play-off spot in 2024-25 before their promotion winning campaign last term.
"We celebrated so much during my time here as a player, because we played a brand of football that we were so proud of as players and we knew the fans loved, and we found a way to win whilst doing it," he added.
"That is the idea that I want to cultivate for our supporters again, and I'm very excited to meet them and begin to develop that idea together."
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