Southend United boss envious of Chesterfield squad quality

Southend United manager Kevin Maher was envious of the strength in depth of Chesterfield’s squad on Tuesday night.
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Maher has done a wonderful job this season, battling against off-the-field issues such as players not being paid and a transfer embargo, but he has still managed to get them in contention for the play-offs.

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“You see what they (Chesterfield) are bringing off the bench tonight – (Andrew) Dallas, (Ollie) Banks, they brought in (Paul) McCallum as well and we need a bit of help,” Maher told the Southend Echo.

Southend United manager Kevin Maher.Southend United manager Kevin Maher.
Southend United manager Kevin Maher.

“It’s very tough but it’s been that way for a while.

“All the teams are trying to strengthen at the minute and we haven’t done that.”

Chesterfield were the better team on the night and led 2-0 thanks to goals from Laurence Maguire and Ryan Colclough. Harry Cardwell halved the deficit but despite some late pressure Paul Cook’s men held on for a second successive win.

On the performance, Maher said: “There were a few nerves and a bit of tension in the first half. We didn’t pass the ball well enough and it was too easy for them to turn it over.

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“We still had a couple of good chances. We were done on a set piece, which any team won’t be happy with. Once we got ourselves together, we played well. We kept going to the end trying to get an equaliser but it just wasn’t to be.

“When we’ve got our full team out, we’re a handful for anyone, and that was the same tonight. We were on the front-foot trying to get something from the game, but they’ve got some very good players.”