Spireites '˜bowed down' to Gardner's wish to play games

The Chesterfield boss addressed Gardner’s move to Bury, saying he understood the 25-year-old’s frustrations.

But the door isn’t closed on his future at the Proact, insists Wilson.

He said: “For someone to be sat out with the talent he’s got is frustrating from his point of view, I fully understand that.

“We’ve bowed down to Dan’s argument that he needs to go and play games.

“He’s a good player and needs to be on the pitch, he just wants to get out on the grass.”

The performances of Jay O’Shea and Declan John have made life harder for Gardner at the Proact, and with Dan Jones on the road to recovery, Wilson said a loan spell seemed a sensible option for Gardner.

“We’ve got Jay O’Shea playing very well. Dan Jones is heading back towards fitness and we’ve got Declan John,” he said.

“You look at the last month or two he’s not played too many games at all.

“He’s a talented lad. We’ve had to play a certain way with certain personnel to get results.

“He’s gone to Bury, in a good environment and they’ve got some of our nearest rivals in the next few fixtures so if he can wave a bit of magic hopefully he can help us.”

The loan move, which is until the end of the season and doesn’t include an option to recall him in the first month, doesn’t necessarily mean the end for Gardner’s career with Spireites.

Wilson said: “He’ll come back as our player at the end of the season, still under contract and we’ll have to sit down and talk about it then.

“A lot of things can change in football in a short space of time.

“We know the ability he’s got and the character he is, the only way to get the best out of him is play him.

“It’s not the end of the road from Dan’s point of view with us. We’ll just see what happens.

Wilson said it was unlikely they’d look to bring in anyone else before the Walsall game, but didn’t rule out the addition of further loan players if the need arises.