Chesterfield 'not yet a good team', says Paul Cook after Accrington Stanley defeat

The Spireites boss was speaking after they lost 3-0 at home to Accrington Stanley, which was their first defeat of the season at the SMH Group Stadium and it ended their nine-match unbeaten run.

“We are a team which is trying to evolve but we have got to have consistencies in how we play and one of the consistencies is starting games properly, being aggressive and winning second balls,” Cook said. “I think at the minute we are a club with loads of good players but we are not yet a good team. Sometimes we can be a free-scoring team but when they have everyone behind the ball it is not easy. We have got to make sure that when we get in the ascendancy, which might be after 60-70 minutes, we get teams on the back foot and our quality should win us the game then. We should open teams up. Sometimes when you are chasing the game it can get more frustrating.”

He continued: “I do think for our fans it can be difficult as well because we are trying to be patient, that is the way we are trying to form our club, and that is the way I like the game to be played. Sometimes our fans have got to try to stay with us and I do understand, by the way, the frustrations now and again when we play backwards and sidewards, I get it.”

Chesterfield lost Harvey Araujo to a hip injury on the morning of the game and that came after Jenson Metcalfe suffered a heel problem on Friday. Both of them were due to start. To make matters worse, Max Thompson injured his ankle in the pre-match warm-up.

Cook said: “The disruption in the team with players pulling out with injuries is not great. We lost three lads in the last 24 hours and we had worked all week on our team and how we were going to play so that was a disappointment and maybe a couple of refereeing decisions along the way didn't help.”

Accrington led 1-0 at half-time before scoring twice in four second-half minutes, although the third was controversial and Chesterfield had what looked like a strong shout for a penalty for handball rejected by referee Darren Drysdale in the first 45.

“There is no point in criticising referees,” Cook explained. “We have had too many decisions like that this year. My big one was the foul on Tom Naylor. It is not even a hard decision, it is just a foul.”

Chesterfield had some chances, with two good ones falling to Devan Tanton, but they couldn’t make the breakthrough.

Cook told the DT: “You have got to take your chances, they are the moments that will sort the game out, it doesn’t matter who you are, you have got to take your chances. We were always going to be susceptible to counter-attacks.”

Town drop from sixth to ninth following the loss. On the performance overall, Cook added: “It is a tough day at the office. We never started the game at all. We never got a foothold in it. Accrington deserve all the credit, all the plaudits, it is a great away win. It probably looks on paper more convincing than it actually was but that is football and we have to take our medicine. Accrington worked ever so hard and sometimes the harder you work the luckier you get and I think Accrington deserved that today, not just through honesty and work ethic but they have some good players as well.”