Chesterfield have 'double the budget' that Oldham Athletic have, claims David Unsworth

After Saturday’s 1-1 draw between the two teams, Unsworth told TV that the Spireites would ‘probably’ top the division this season, which raised eyebrows and drew criticism given his team are one of the favourites to finish first.

In another interview with the Oldham Times, Unsworth has provided more of an explanation about what he meant.

"I think people have taken that as if to say I don't want us to win the league. What I'm saying is, if we finish above Chesterfield, we are winning the league,” he told the Oldham Times.

"Do I think Chesterfield are winning the league? Probably.

"Do I think we've got a great chance of getting promoted? Yes.”

Unsworth came under-fire from some Oldham fans in the away end for his counter-attacking tactics on Saturday, but he insists that was the correct approach to take.

He also claimed the Town have ‘double the budget’ his club has.

He said: "We have just gone toe to toe with Chesterfield; frustrated them. The stats are in our favour, other than possession. We had the best chances of the game, they have double the budget that we have, they are two or three years further down the line in terms of their club being cleansed and then built.

"We won there last year, we got a point there this year. They are a goalscoring machine and for us to only give them one proper opportunity in 90-odd minutes, it's the perfect away day performance."

He added: "Somebody said to me if that was a European performance by a team it would have been a masterclass.

"If any team goes and plays open expansive football against Chesterfield, particularly at Chesterfield, they'll get tonked. Now, I don't want to get beat. That's not being negative, it's being clever. We frustrated them, the players were brilliant to execute a gameplan for 96 minutes, and we got our reward so brilliant, move on, next game."