John Pemberton on "extremely difficult" week after death of former Chesterfield player Jordan Sinnott

The 25-year-old, who played for Town during the 2017/18 season, was assaulted on a night out in Retford, Nottinghamshire, in the early hours of last Saturday and passed away later that evening in hospital.

Two men, aged 21 and 22, have been charged with manslaughter in connection with the incident and a third man, aged 21, has been charged with affray.

Paying tribute to him Mr Sinnot’s family called him a “true gentleman.”

Pemberton said: “It has been extremely difficult because a lot of the players knew him and a few of the players were really good friends with him.

"On Monday we sat down and let people get things off their chest.

"I think that was important to them as a group to discuss how they were feeliing.

"I did not want them to hide their feelings.

"I did not want training to be too mind boggling for them, I just wanted them to come in and try and clear their heads for Tuesday.”

There will be a minute’s applause for Mr Sinnott at this Saturday’s game against Notts County at Meadow Lane and at Chesterfield’s next home fixture against Wrexham next weekend.

Pemberton also revealed that he held a psychology meeting with his players to talk about how to manage their emotions.

"I have to say the feedback and the honesty that came from it was good,” he added.