Dilan Markanday confident Chesterfield squad is in good shape after pre-season opens with defeat at Matlock Town

Chesterfield opened up pre-season with a rusty 2-1 defeat at Matlock Town at the weekend.

But the flying winger is confident Town have got the squad needed to give promotion a real good go.

“I’m really happy with the squad,” he said. “It’s still early in the window and there will be more incoming.

“We have got a good mix of experience and young players. I feel like we are in a good place.

“We don’t want to be in those situations in the play-offs, we want automatic promotion.

“I want to go as far as I can with Chesterfield and I think this club has got everything to go to the next level and beyond.”

And Markanday is hoping to use his own experience of a play-off final defeat with Leyton Orient to help Spireites avoid a similar fate in 2026.

“The play-off final was a great experience,” added Markanday. “I definitely feel like I want to be back there and to be the main man.

“It’s given me the motivation to go and do it again. It fuels the fire to go one better.”

Markanday believes squad consistency can be the key to Spireites securing a top three spot after injuries hit the club hard last season.

“When I was here we weren’t too fortunate with injuries,” he said. “It is always hard keeping that consistency.

“The gaffer mentioned last season that we used 40 players, which is a lot of players. It makes it hard to keep those relationships on the pitch and momentum.

““Obviously we’re not happy with the result (Matlock), but I don’t think we can overthink this game too much.

“Sometimes these games can be difficult because you are playing with people you have never played with before. Let’s not overthink it, it’s about getting fitness in the legs and starting the first game of the season hitting our peak.

“It is good to get 45 minutes under the belt and everyone came out unscathed.”

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