Outgoings needed to balance the books, says Chesterfield manager James Rowe

The Spireites boss has also revealed that his assistant last season, George Foster has been offered an ‘alternative’ role within the club and Danny Webb, who came in as first-team manager in April, will take over from Foster.

Rowe currently has a squad of 24 players and he has made five summer signings so far.

When asked about how his planning for the new season is going, speaking in an official club interview, Rowe said: “We are probably 50 per cent there. There will need to be a few more tweaks. We need to balance the books. Part of my remit as my position as manager was to bring down the budget while improving the quality on the pitch and that is a hard job.

“To add Jack Clarke, who played a major part towards the back end of last season, is a positive and Liam Mandeville signed a new contract just before the play-offs as well, so those two in particular are pleasing. And to add Jamie (Grimes), Jeff (King), Calvin (Miller) and Scott (Loach) to that, that is strength in depth there.

“But with those incoming there has got to be some outgoings in the next few weeks to make sure the business is run right. Ultimately you want to protect the club for the future, that is the ultimate goal here, it is definitely not going for broke for promotion, it is going with a vision, plan and these players have been planned for a while.”

Speaking more about possible outgoings, Rowe added: “The terms have to be right for the club, it is not just ticking a box and getting the players out. Some of the players that may have to leave have had good seasons or a good six or seven months under me so the terms have to be right for us at a club. It is not just jumping at any offer, it has got to be right.”

The experienced Foster and Rowe have known each other for a while, including working together at Rowe’s former club Gloucester City.

The news about Foster comes after chief scout, Paul Lemon, left the club yesterday.

Physio Nic Brink, who joined the club midway through last season, has been appointed head of sports science and medicine on a permanent basis.

“George Foster has been offered a different alternative within the structure that I think, perhaps, will be best suited to the club moving forwards,” Rowe explained. “As we move forward, we obviously have to make changes and people have to step off the journey, people have to do alternative roles.

“Since Danny Webb came in, he has played a major part on the coaching field for me and, at the level we are at, we can’t have too many staff members doing too much so we need to manoeuvre that and make sure it is the best for the club. So George has been offered an alternative role and Danny will be assisting me on the touchline next season.

“Danny is enthusiastic and he has been a major part in the last three months of the season.”