Chesterfield coach 'taken aback' by maturity of squad ahead of new National League season

Standards have gone up a notch at Chesterfield this summer.
Liam Mandeville has impressed in pre-season.Liam Mandeville has impressed in pre-season.
Liam Mandeville has impressed in pre-season.

Following last season’s seventh-placed finish and play-off semi-final defeat, manager Paul Cook has rebuilt his squad with 11 new signings.

The new additions have gelled quickly in pre-season, recording five successive wins.

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But what has not gone unnoticed is how some of the players who were at the club last season have also raised their levels.

In particular, Jeff King, Liam Mandeville, Akwasi Asante and Joe Quigley have all impressed, with assistant manager Danny Webb admitting he has been ‘taken aback’ by the maturity of the squad despite many of them being in their 20s.

“The new signings have come in and not only just settled in but you can already see three or four of them are going to be fan favourites which is great,” Webb told the DT.

"And the ones who were here last year I feel have gone up another level, taken on more responsibility, they have become bigger characters, so it is looking good.

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“I have been taken aback by how mature they are, how receptive they are to learn off the gaffer, myself and Gary (Roberts) and hopefully that can continue because there are going to be some disappointed people at Dorking who don’t even travel. That shows the strength of the squad and they have got to be focused because they are all going to be needed at some point.”

One of Chesterfield’s new boys, Michael Gyasi, scored his first goal for the club in the 2-0 win at Boston United last Friday night.

“I have been doing a bit of individual work with him and he is receptive to wanting to learn and he is hungry,” Webb added.