Column: Look back at Wilson's first year as Town boss and raise a glass half full at Christmas time

Danny Wilson's Chesterfield have a habit of leaving their best until last at the Proact.
Chesterfield vs Coventry City - Danny Wilson - Pic By James WilliamsonChesterfield vs Coventry City - Danny Wilson - Pic By James Williamson
Chesterfield vs Coventry City - Danny Wilson - Pic By James Williamson

In the final home game of the 2015/16 season they produced a sparkling display to thrash Bury 3-0 and secure their League One status.

The last home game of the year was equally memorable and could be just as vital as that victory over the Shakers.

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Town said goodbye to 2016 at the Proact with a 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers and brought to an end, on a high note, their manager’s first year in charge of the club.

It was Christmas Eve 2015 when Wilson took on the sometimes thankless task of managing the Spireites.

He’s ended his first year managing his hometown club having avoided defeat in more games than he’s lost – just.

In 53 outings under Wilson, Chesterfield have lost 26 times, winning 18 and drawing nine.

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It’s that shock three point haul in last weekend’s game that ensures Wilson comes out ‘ahead’ for the year in terms of results.

It will go down as one of the highlights of that year and certainly ranks among the very best team performances.

No one let the side down on a day when everyone had to be at their best for 95 minutes.

It may not have had the rampant joy of January’s 7-1 thrashing of Shrewsbury Town, when Chesterfield ended a wait of more than two months for a league win.

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There may not have been the relief of April’s beating of Bury, when safety was confirmed.

But last Saturday was the perfect festive treat for a club that hasn’t had the best of years.

There was an all-too rare sense of unity around the ground.

It will have done the players the world of good, Lloyd Allinson stating that they can now travel to Rochdale ‘sky high’ having bettered one of the league’s best.

They proved how good they can be and with key players still to return, it gives rise, again, to optimism that this won’t be the season that Town slip back into League Two.

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Town have been described as a yo-yo club, one that pops up into League One only to fall through the trapdoor.

This season, form and confidence have yo-yoed up and down as results have fluctuated between promising and putrid.

Rochdale on Boxing Day pose a big threat to that sky high confidence, but 95 minutes like last Saturday would do the trick.

Goodness knows what year two holds for Wilson and Chesterfield.

Three wins in the last four league outings, over teams near the top, middle and bottom, suggest all might be okay.

Why not treat yourself to a glass half full this Christmas time?