Paul Cook has urged fans to get behind the team after a “frustrating afternoon” on Saturday that saw Chesterfield draw 1-1 with Cheltenham at the SMH Group Stadium.
Cook said: “We’re probably going to have more of them this season, and as I say we’re in such a change as a team, we’ve got so many new players coming in. Two very young lads are making their home debut, so I think we’ve got to be careful.
“We’re not entitled to win every game. Just because we’ve got a good squad, and good players, we’re not entitled to say ‘We’re Chesterfield, and this is gonna be a breeze.’ We’ve got to respect that.”
Dilan Markanday put the Spireites in front after 27 minutes before Arkell Jude-Boyd equalised eight minutes into the second half.
“The goal we gave away was an absolute disgrace, a disgrace. There’s no getting away from that. And we were under zero pressure in the game,” said Cook.
“But especially for us with our support – they’ve turned out, our Chesterfield fans, again. They’re brilliant, amazing. But this season, it’s not the best record in the world. It’s our record. And late on we should be full of encouragement and energy and life. And at the end of the game when we don’t win it’s no problem with any type of reactions, that’s football. But we’ve got to give our players confidence and belief.
“We’re a possession-based team. We try and play. So when teams like Cheltenham come today, with a clear intention to frustrate us, our crowd’s reaction doesn’t help the team unfortunately. I don’t get it, I definitely don’t get it. But that’s football. I’m not clashing with our supporters.
“But we’ve got lads who have never played together on the pitch today. We’re not going to be some machine all of a sudden, where these lads all know what they’re doing. When you’re playing against a team who are as well-versed as Cheltenham are. I just thought today our performance never lifted our supporters, and we maybe needed our supporters just to give us that lift, because our relationship is a strong one.”
Cook has urged fans to remain patient with Chesterfield only seven games into their League Two campaign: “It’s a new league. We’re playing teams now with different challenges and have all got good players. Cheltenham carry a threat, everyone carries a threat. Of course we’re disappointed we haven’t seen a game or two out at home more, that would see us in a much better position. It’s a long way to go, isn’t it.”
