Chesterfield to follow Orient blueprint on lifting shadow of relegation from Football League

And manager Martin Allen said they would be trying to implement the model that has brought leaders and Saturday’s opponents Leyton Orient success so far this season.

Allen, lifted by two consecutive victories, including their first in the National League since August, said: “Always when clubs get relegated (out of the Football League) – apart from Cheltenham Town and Bristol Rovers – there is always a shadow, a shadow that hangs over the club on and off the field.

“It is always going to be difficult.

“Nobody wants the tag of playing non league. We saw it last year with (now leaders) Orient, who struggled at the start of the season to come to terms with it.

“The model that everyone at Orient (is implementing) after the horrendous previous ownership is a fantastic recovery.

“It has taken them 18 months to get there – and that’s what we have got to aspire to… Good lads from non league, good lads from our youth team and building on our current squad with a younger and more vibrant squad.

“I want to rise like Leyton Orient.”