Chesterfield boss James Rowe named National League manager of the month

The Spireites won five out of seven games last month to jump into the play-off places for the first time this season.

Town started March with a one-nil win at home to Eastleigh, a performance Rowe said was his ‘most complete’ as a coach after a dominant display stopped the Spitfires from having a single shot.

They followed it up with a second-half demolition of in-form Yeovil Town in the next game, with all three goals coming after the break.

Back-to-back defeats against Maidenhead United and Sutton United was a minor blip as they hit back with two away wins on the spin at Barnet and Aldershot before finishing the month with victory at home to Weymouth. Those three wins returned three clean sheets.

“When James Rowe arrived at Chesterfield in late November the club were sitting in the relegation places and concerned about not being a National League club next season,” the National League said when announcing the award.

“Now, firmly rooted in the play-off places, there’s a genuine chance they won’t be... for an altogether different reason!

“It was a great March for the club, a month when things suddenly got real.

“The Spireites beat Eastleigh, Yeovil, Barnet, Aldershot, Weymouth - and didn’t let in a goal in any of those victories.

"The club’s fans have fallen for their new manager already.”

Dagenham and Redbridge’s Angelo Balanta was named the player of the month, scoring the winner against Torquay United and notching two against Boreham Wood.