Chesterfield making plans for life without Armando Dobra
Chesterfield are planning for the future without Armando Dobra and pushing on with the task of finding a capable replacement.
The attacker called time on his stay in North Derbyshire last week to move up a division to join Leyton Orient, stripping the team of one of its most prominent operators.
Although Dobra will be a big miss for a club that wants to win automatic promotion from League Two next season, his departure has been factored into the summer recruitment plans. The Spireites also received an undisclosed fee.
"(Does he leave big boots to fill?) Very much, but that’s football, players move on,” said assistant manager Danny Webb, speaking to the Derbyshire Times.
"If a couple of targets we have got come off then our supporters will get excited about the next player they see running up and own the left but those signings aren’t quite over the line yet.”
Dobra left with the best wishes of the vast majority of the fan base due to his contributions since joining from Ipswich in the National League days.
He turned out more than 160 times, scoring 39 goals and helping the Spireites win promotion back to the EFL and then twice reach the League Two play-offs.
Added Webb: "When you look at Paul Cook’s first pre-season he only wanted to bring in players he felt could get us into the Football League.
"Whether it be Dobs or other players that need to move on or don’t feature as much, initially they have all done their service by getting this great club back in the league and now it’s about kicking on.
"Dobs had been here for a while and he wants to challenge himself in League One, which is completely understandable, and we do wish him well because he gave Chesterfield fans a lot of happy memories.”