Chesterfield supporters urged to spread good vibes about the club, not bad

The ongoing Project 9,000 initiative is about working towards getting 9,000 home fans through the turnstiles at the SMH Group Stadium on a regular basis.

While attractive, winning football is a big part of that, chairman Ashley Kirk says spreading positivity rather than negativity about the club and not talking it down is also important.

Mr Kirk took an opportunity at the recent fans’ forum to get his message across.

“Who wants to see a full stadium at every home game?” he asked. "We are going to get that by people being an ambassador for the club.

“Whether it’s society or whether it’s me, I hear a few angry voices saying ‘the recruitment's rubbish, this is bad, that is bad, sack him,’ and they are the ones that everyone seems to talk about and talk to.

"Does that encourage anyone who doesn’t come to the game to come to the game? I don’t think it does.

"For the thousands of us who are supportive, it is important we pull together and try and pass the word around that it’s a good show out there and you can have a good time going to the football.

"It’s important to support your town. It’s lovely to belong to something and have a shared experience out on a Saturday.

"Yes, it’s fantastic to win, and it’s not a disaster to draw, but let’s let people know you can have a good time down here.

"We need everyone to take pride in the club and the town and I think that’s the way we are going to get those people fans in.”

Mr Kirk said regulars could help by asking potential supporters along to the SMH.

"It’s dead easy for people to say we’ll never get 9,000 in, but have you invited someone along to the game? Everyone has a big part to play,” he added.

"We will do our best by making he matchday experience as good as we can under the constraints we’ve got and we will try to listen to any ideas that will help.

"I think we have a great club going to great places. We are progressing at a sensible pace and I would like everyone to get behind us.”

Club benefactor Sharon Kirk added that support for the team wasn’t the only consideration.

Support for the revamped stadium and the non-football activities it stages away from matchdays was also important.

"We now have a fantastic facility so please get behind the events we put on. I think it is important people realise the stadium has an important part to play in providing funds to help us,” she said.

First team manager Paul Cook has voiced his dismay more than once this season about the lack of patience from a section of the club’s supporters about results, especially after the defeat at Rotherham.

He says the criticism isn’t exclusive to Chesterfield.

Cook told the forum: “In the modern world some fans go in a different direction supporting their team. At the end of our win at Oldham the Oldham players got booed off and I’m thinking to myself as I come off the pitch, ‘that was their first defeat. Is that normal now?’

“I would like to think we are a different type of club, if that’s possible, because we are such a strong community club.

"When we play here it’s not about us. It’s about the team trying to get a win for the town.”