'Phenomenal' - big praise for Chesterfield from Dorking Wanderers manager Marc White

The Spireites edged a seven-goal thriller on the opening day of the season 4-3.

White said: “I think Chesterfield is such a great club. No disrespect to anyone else in the league at all but I do feel like they are probably the most professional team in the league.

“I don’t know the owners there but Paul Cook and Danny Webb run that like a really professional outfit. Their pre-season was one of a Championship side. The way they do things is phenomenal. They are ready, massively, for the next step.

“They are well supported by the local people there. They are a club worthy of this title favourites tag.”

Wanderers played their part in a great clash and White explained that he was chuffed with the performance given five of the starting line-up had not played many minutes in pre-season.

But he echoed comments by his assistant manager, Dean Milton, about former Spireite, Joe Cook, who was sent off for receiving two yellow cards, with the scoreline 2-2 at the time.

He said: “The game boiled down to two things really. We had a player who let us down significantly in Joe and that has cost him dearly. Football players can win you matches and get pay increases and football players can lose you matches - and Joe lost us that match. Joe is a great lad but he let himself down, he let the team down.”

And White was unhappy with the amount of added-on time, with five in the first-half and 13 in the second-half.

White said he doesn’t blame the officials because the instruction has come from the FA but he added that it’s important football does not become like basketball.

“30 per cent of the second-half was added back on top, that is absolutely impossible to come to that conclusion.

“Player welfare is going to go down the drain.”

'Attacks win games, defences win titles' - five talking points from Chesterfield's eventful victory against Dorking Wanderers