Manager assesses forthcoming challenge

Paul Cook gave a glowing appraisal of FC Halifax Town and their manager Pete Wild ahead of the fixture with them on Easter Monday.

Speaking to the media, he said: “They’ve had an outstanding season. The manager has done really well at the club; his achievements there are excellent.

“His team are obviously a very, very good side. They’ve got a lot of talented players and it will be a really tough test for us. We hope it will be a tough test for Halifax as well. 

“We will travel across in great numbers like Chesterfield always do. The support from our supporters is always very strong no matter where we play.

“All they want to see us is for us to give them a performance that they can applaud us off the pitch. It doesn’t mean we’ll win the game, but it means we’ll give everything we’ve got in pursuit of winning the game.”

The Spireites reverted back to the 3-5-2 formation during the win over Wealdstone – a formation that has worked so well this season.

Cook believes that his team are still looking for the right blend of formation and players as they go towards the end of the season.

He said: “The challenge for me was getting to know all of the players – I feel like I know all of the group now. I can only tell our supporters that they are a really, really good set of lads to work with.

“They work really hard and are very committed. They are very honest, and we’ve got qualities.

“For me as a manager, trying to find that right blend of team is so important. I think that is something that we are still searching for today.”

The Bank Holiday weekend throws up two games for most teams, however Chesterfield only have to worry about one this year.

Cook says that he and his team are using that to their advantage and will be watching games on Friday to observe the teams around them.

“Luckily, I can go and watch Halifax at Altrincham which is great,” Cook said. “Gary Roberts is going over to Wrexham versus Solihull.

“Webby is going to Grimsby versus Stockport, so it’s a really good day for us in terms of watching opposition and fact-finding.

“The work doesn’t stop but we are really looking forward to the game at Halifax on Monday.”