Caldwell wants more '˜hunger and nastiness' from Spireites

Relegated Chesterfield FC have the difficult task of picking themselves up from the ultimate disappointment in football for the final two fixtures of their League One campaign.
Spireites boss Gary CaldwellSpireites boss Gary Caldwell
Spireites boss Gary Caldwell

The Spireites were sent down with defeat on Easter Monday at Scunthorpe United but boss Gary Caldwell wants to see a marked improvement between now and the end of the season from his players.

“I want to see the mistakes cut out,” he said. “I want to see a bit more hunger and nastiness. I think that if you are a nice team then quite often nice teams get relegated and we’re too nice at this moment in time.”

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Chesterfield will have a chance to show a meaner side to their game in front of their own support at the Proact Stadium on Saturday against Charlton Athletic, in the last home match of the 2016/17 season.

The Spireites have conceded a whopping 37 goals at home from 22 games in League One this campaign - more than any other team in the division and nearly twice as many as Saturday’s visitors Charlton.

The Addics, 15th in the table, took a big step to avoiding the trap door following Monday’s 3-0 win over a struggling Gillingham side, who were sucked back into the scrap for survival towards the bottom.

Seven points from their last three games have all but assured Charlton fans of third tier football next time out and Karl Robinson will be keen to maintain momentum as they look to push on next season.

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“There are teams up and down the country winning promotion today and I’m jealous of that,” he said.

“I want The Valley to be rocking and have our fans celebrating together with our players. There has to be a burning desire in us to go and move this club forward and that has got to be our main aim – nothing less than that.

“Hopefully, I can bring that continuity and passion back into the team and they are starting to show it.”

Winger Ricky Holmes is one of the key men to watch out for come Saturday for the Spireites, with the former Barnet, Portsmouth and Northampton man topping the Addicks goalscoring charts with 11 goals to his name so far.

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There have been few past meetings between the two teams, though Charlton have the advantage in the head-to-heads with seven league wins to Chesterfield’s five and three draws.

A goal from ex-Spireite Lee Novak saw Charlton to a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture earlier in the season.