Ahead of the Spireites’ trip to the Chigwell Construction Stadium, James Rowe assessed the threat posed by Dagenham & Redbridge and looked at the challenges that lie ahead for the rest of the season.
He said: “It will be a tough game being our second away trip in four days. Their form has been mixed so they are capable of beating anyone and also being beaten.
“Obviously we want to focus more on ourselves. We will be prepared as a staff and the players will be fully aware of their individual and team objectives to overcome the opponent.
“Our form has been very good: 17 points from eight league games. The challenge is to now continue that form and football is relentless.
“We’ve got to roll our sleeves up, make sure our work ethic is good, train how we want to play and long may the form continue. We can achieve anything this year still; it’s still wide open.”
Joe Rowley signed a contract extension during the week until the summer of 2022. Rowe stated that he is looking forward to overseeing the development of the 21-year-old once he is back from injury.
“We are really, really happy to get it done. He’s an asset to the club and we have to protect our assets,” Rowe said.
“He has shown massive potential to really kick on and develop his game. He just needs a bit of confidence.
“He’s still a young lad and I think because he has been around for quite a while, people forget that he has got quite a bit of experience for his age.
“Hopefully once he comes back from his injury, he can reclaim that form quickly and kick on from there.”
Chesterfield will have a few players missing on Saturday, whether it be through injury or suspension.
Rowe provided an update on the players who will be missing, saying: “For Joe [Rowley], it’s a grade two [hamstring injury]. He will be out around five weeks, but you never know with hamstrings. Sometimes they can heal quicker and sometimes you can get setbacks.
“Tom Denton is still unavailable. He’s having an operation on Tuesday to clear up his knee. We are hoping it is just a clear up, but we are looking at around ten weeks for Tom.
“Jak [McCourt] is suspended and we will give someone else an opportunity. We will see when we reveal the line-up tomorrow.”
