Football ingrained in our family, says new Chesterfield manager Gary Caldwell

Caldwell revealed that as an eight to 10-year-old he used to train with his father’s men’s non-league team in Scotland, along with his elder brother, Steven.

Both brothers went on to good playing careers, representing Scotland and playing for Newcastle and Wigan among others.

Caldwell, speaking at his press conference on Friday a week after taking over at the Proact, said of his introduction to football: “Dad told them to kick us if we were not doing too well.

“We got taught pretty early that it is a rough game – and you had to be a man if you wanted to play it.

“It is a good grounding that probably doesn’t happy anymore with academies and we have lost that with the development of young players. We need to try and get it back pretty quickly.”

It’s great to be back, says CaldwellTalking about growing up with his equally football-mad brother, Caldwell added: “We had an incredibly competitive spirit amongst each other growing up and that continued into our careers. It was good for both of us.

“Our parents gave up everything to take us to different training sessions and different clubs. Then as we got older they have seen a lot of football at different leagues and different clubs.

“They love it (football) as well. It is obviously ingrained in the family that football is a big part of the family.”