Chesterfield 'potentially close' to making a 'few' new signings - but won't be 'held to ransom'

Chesterfield are ‘potentially’ closing in on adding a ‘few’ new signings - but it is unlikely any will arrive before Saturday’s game against Aldershot.
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Manager James Rowe has made no secret of his desire to strengthen the squad as the Spireites bid to make a return to the Football League after four years away but he says they won’t be ‘held to ransom’.

Rowe is keen to bolster his squad with Jack Clarke out for the season with a hamstring injury and Danny Rowe’s ongoing health issue which has kept him sidelined since October.

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“We have potentially got a few that are close but I am not going to comment on other players until they are signed,” Rowe said on Friday morning.

James RoweJames Rowe
James Rowe

"We know what we are looking for, we know what key players we have lost for the long-term that we need to replace if we want to be where we want to be at the end destination.

"We need to strengthen and we need to strengthen quickly. It was quite clear on Tuesday with the players who started the game with my hand being forced a little bit.”

Asked by the DT if he thinks anything will happen before Saturday’s match, Rowe replied: "I don’t think so, no. I don’t think it will be this weekend. But certainly from Saturday to the following Saturday we have got a week where we can focus on strengthening the team how we want to.”

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Rowe revealed that he has enquired about a ‘couple’ of players but those deals have not progressed because the club will not be ‘held to ransom’ over ‘extortionate’ price tags for players.

“I don’t know if it is because they think we have got loads of money from our cup run etc but that is not the case,” he said. “It is a bit bonkers really, the price tags. We have got to remember we are in the National League and not the Premier League so to stop a player’s future is some going really. They are not millionaires, the money that they make needs to serve well in their future in terms of when they finish their career at this level. I have enquired about a few players that have not gone anywhere because we are not going to be held to ransom.”

He added: "I am a custodian of the club in terms of being the manager and first and foremost when I work with John Croot it is a case of stability for the future. It is about the future of the club. Obviously part of that is can we get promotion because it sets up the club for the next decade, you would think, because we are in a good position in League Two with a reasonable budget, a fantastic support-base and ground and a trust in charge of the club which has got the future at their foresight. It is a case of stability but there is a balance because we obviously need to strengthen but we won’t be held to ransom.”