Manager Paul Cook sat down with the media on Friday morning to preview the fixture against Shrewsbury Town at the SMH Group Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Starting with the upcoming clash, Cook said: “I think first and foremost, when there’s a change in manager, there’s also a change in identity and philosophy. Football’s always been about winning, and Gavin (Cowan) has come in with his own style.
“They have low possession, possibly the lowest in the division. In terms of expected goals of teams against them, no team has scored above one, which means they give up very few chances, and since he has come in, he would have them top of the league.
“The key message tomorrow is patience and belief. We’ve got a 90-minute tough test tomorrow against a team that will come here clearly comfortable in what they’re doing, backed up by very strong results.
Reflecting on the win over Colchester on Tuesday night, Cook commented: “Colchester carry big threats, especially at the top end of the pitch, with Samson Tovide, Kyreece Lisbie and the good players that they have. To keep a clean sheet was good, especially against the calibre of opposition.
“Great debut from Malik Owolabi-Belewu, who, rightly so, got the ovation that he deserved on about 70 minutes. It was a very, very strong team performance, but it’s got to be backed up. It’s as simple as that; it’s got to be backed up.
“The game was suited to Malik. He was going to come up against Lisbie. That was his match-up on a pitch, and Lisbie is an outstanding footballer.
“He’s obviously well capable, as our supporters have seen, of defending 1v1. It’s probably one of Malik’s biggest strengths, his athleticism, his pace, his 1v1 defending.”
Finally, Cook spoke about the Spireites’ recent form, explaining: “If you want to get where you want to be, losing games can’t happen as frequently as it might have. We had a tough meeting on the Monday of last week where every one of us got questioned.
“When you look at the table, logically, we haven’t lost loads of football games; we’ve drawn too many. That’s what stopped us this year, the drawing of games has stopped us from being where we want to be.
“Now, the emphasis is on us. Can we go and win three, four, five games on the bounce? The team is capable of it, and I’m sure our supporters think it, the players think it, but we have got to deliver.”
