Chesterfield chief Paul Cook on international call-ups and the need for an early-season reality check

While young James Sissons and Gunner Elliott are away with Malta and Danny Anisjko with Latvia, the bigger miss is winger Josh Koroma.

He has started all seven league games but will be away with Sierra Leone when his clubmates try to stretch their six-match unbeaten league and cup run at Whaddon Road.

"A few weeks ago it would have been a big problem,” said Cook, who now has good numbers at his disposal.

"That was one of the things that disappointed me a little bit, some of fans’ reactions early season. We were clearly short on numbers and on being able to make changes in certain areas of the pitch and obviously now we’re not.

"We go into tomorrow’s game with three or four lads away on international duty and we don’t feel it damages or hurts us too much.

“Losing Josh Koroma is a blow, of course it’s a blow, but the reality is we have players chomping and waiting to play.”

They include Liam Mandeville, Joel Randall, Kiano Dyer and Tom Naylor, all of whom played in the newly named Jersey Mike’s Trophy against Port Vale in midweek.

“The last fortnight has been good for us in relation to getting lads minutes,” said Cook. “It has been a chance for our supporters to see the lads individually. Collectively there were two good results against Man City U21s and Port Vale which have helped. The dressing room is in a good place that’s for sure.”

Even though Chesterfield are up to eighth place in the early League Two standings and have been on an upward trajectory, the manager issued a reminder that there will still be bumps in the road.

And he also touched on the continued over-reaction to results in the modern game.

"A lot can be made of the in-form and out-of-form thing. It can become quite tedious to me as a manager nowadays,” he added. “ There is such an over-reaction to each result each weekend but we’re in a long campaign and we are going to have highs and lows. That’s the brutal truth of it.

"You’re finding out about your players, you’re bedding in. We are seven games in. Come on, let’s put a bit of reality on it. There’s such a long way to go and we’re like every other team, we’re just trying to get aligned with what we’re trying to do as quickly as possible.”

Koroma, meanwhile, played the first half of Sierra Leone’s 3-2 home defeat to Zimbabwe in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier last night. They had been leading 2-0 at half time.

Centre-half Alfie Pond is over the knee problem that forced him off against Vale and will be available for selection at Cheltenham.

Kick-off is 3pm.