'I will have a lot of wrinkles!' - Michael Jacobs on Chesterfield's thrilling start to the National League season

The Spireites are only seven matches into the new season but they have already won 4-3 twice and 4-2 and 3-2.

Town are the top scorers in the division with 19, but they have conceded 14, which is the same number as third from bottom Dorking Wanderers.

Speaking after Saturday’s 4-3 win at Aldershot Town, Jacobs told the DT: “I think I will have more wrinkles by the time I leave than anything! It is nice to be involved in exciting games but we would like to tighten up and be a bit more compact and be a bit more structured defensively and try and get a few more clean sheets for the boys at the back.

“When I came in I was expecting a little 2-0 and 3-0 here and there but there has been none of that! It has been frantic but obviously we are coming out on the right side of the results at the minute but we have got a lot to work on. We have got a new group and it is going to take time to gel and hopefully we can tidy up some stuff as a group defensively to try and stop the goals going in.”

Jacobs has spent his whole career playing in the EFL, playing for big clubs like Derby County, Wolves, Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth, winning promotion from League One three times. So what has he made of the standard of the National League?

“It has been good,” he said. “It didn’t surprise me because a lot of players have dropped down and you come across a lot of players you have played against over the years. When you play in the Football League as long as you do people say ‘did you expect it to be different’ but the standard of football has been really good. You only have to look at the players in our dressing room to see it is a great standard of players.”

The attacking midfielder said Paul Cook was a ‘massive’ factor in him joining Chesterfield because he played some of his best football under him when they were together at Wigan Athletic. Jacobs also played with Ryan Colclough and Will Grigg at Wigan and with first-team coach Gary Roberts at Ipswich Town.

Jacobs signed for the Spireites on the eve of the new campaign so he did not have a pre-season but he has now started four of the last five games, including the last three.

He added: “It does take time to gel and coming off the back of pre-season and coming into the group a bit late it has taken me a little bit of time to gel and find my feet in terms of playing but hopefully now I can kick-on and getting a couple of 90 minutes under my belt will certainly help.”