With 10 games left Caldwell hopes for run of '˜four or five' wins to save the Spireites

Despite picking up the first win of his managerial reign on Saturday at Swindon, Caldwell watched in despair as his players yet again failed to show any consistency, losing 1-0 to Walsall on Tuesday night.

The result leaves the Spireites eight points adrift of safety with just 10 games left.

For Caldwell, the message doesn’t change, even if the mountain facing his men contonues to get steeper.

“Keep working, you keep going,” he said.

“I keep saying that until it’s mathematically impossible.

“You keep working on the training pitch, believing in the players, they have to believe in themselves.

“That’s the life of a footballer player, you have to go through periods like this and come through it.

“We’ve proved we can do it, we need to do it more consistently.”

Caldwell admits, however, that it’s going to take a purple patch for Town to escape their current predicament.

Chesterfield have failed to put more than two wins together all season, so Caldwell says they have to start now – at home to Shrewsbury on Saturday – to keep their hopes of staying in League One alive.

“Two home games now, it’s important we start picking up points at home,” he said.

“We need a consistent run, we have to go on a run of four or five wins on the spin to give us any chance.

“The players have the quality to do it.

“It’s one thing saying it, it’s another going out and performing on the pitch.

“I’m sure it will turn and when it does we have to capitalise on it.”