The house that Jack will build '“ Lester reveals the plan behind his confidence
The Chesterfield boss speaks with confidence and assurance when he addresses the future and what his team will eventually look like.
But what is the rookie manager’s belief built on, just two months into his tenure as Town boss.
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Hide Ad“I’m very clear on what I want the team to look like and what we want the team to look like,” he said.
“I know what elements are important and how to develop them in terms of the character of the team, the fitness levels, the strengths, the style.
“We’ve always said these players have got a lovely opportunity to come with us on that journey and recruitment will be along the lines of putting people in places that have the right skill set to produce a team that wins.”
When he arrived Lester promised to give fans a team that was aggressive, purposeful, energetic and possessing a winning mentality.
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Hide AdHe insists it’s so much more than a catchy soundbite and he knows the steps Chesterfield need to take to achieve his four desired characteristics.
“I’ll have an hour with you and show you a presentation on exactly what purposeful means, what energy means and what winning mentality wins because they’re just buzz words when you have interviews,” he said.
“But there’s action plans for each point to develop those areas and what they mean, how we’re going to get them, how it looks on the gym, on the training ground, in meetings, why do we do a tough session? Why do we put that extra run on the end of a session? It’s not just for luck it’s to produce mental toughness, to put them in difficult situations which we try and do constantly.
“In terms of why I’m excited about building something special it’s because we’ve got a very clear plan of how we’re going to do it.
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Hide Ad“It’s not just buzzwords, it’s not just talking about being purposeful, it’s about producing the right players who play on the front foot. We’re not just talking about being aggressive, they’ve got to go and work in the gym, they can’t be aggressive and flimsy.”
Lester has addressed the side’s fitness through tough training sessions and additional work in the gym and it has paid off with an improvement in both performances and results.
Many players in the squad have dropped body fat and being fit and lean is key to delivering the Lester style of football.
He wants other teams to take one look at the Spireites squad as they walk out at 2.55pm on a Saturday and realise they’re in for a tough afternoon.
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Hide Ad“When we’re asking people to be aggressive off the football they’ve got to have a capacity to run like Jak McCourt did in the 90th minute against Exeter,” he said.
“And they’re not there yet but they’re going to be.
“Their body shapes aren’t there yet, but they’re going to be.
“When we’re walking onto a football pitch other teams will look across and think I don’t fancy playing them. They don’t do that yet.
“Why I’m excited is because I know exactly what it’s going to look like.”