'Trust me' - Chesterfield boss has full belief in on-loan Blackpool striker Adi Yussuf

James Rowe has asked people to ‘trust’ his judgement on striker Adi Yussuf.
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The 28-year-old joined Chesterfield on loan from League One Blackpool in February until the end of the season.

The forward, who had been on loan at National League rivals Wrexham earlier this campaign, has only made one start so far and is awaiting his first goal.

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Town manager Rowe has compared Yussuf to Jack Clarke, who had to wait until March to make his first start despite joining on loan from Aston Villa back in January, but is now starting to show his quality.

Adi Yussuf joined Chesterfield on loan from Blackpool in February.Adi Yussuf joined Chesterfield on loan from Blackpool in February.
Adi Yussuf joined Chesterfield on loan from Blackpool in February.

“The training methods at Wrexham are very different here at Chesterfield and I think he (Yussuf) has needed some time to adapt and you have got to trust me on that like with Jack Clarke,” Rowe told the DT.

“If I had chucked Jack Clarke into a game two months ago he would not have survived, he wasn’t ready, he is ready now to consistently perform at the levels we want.

“The staff feed me information on that so we are taking care and making sure that players like Jack and Adi are ready to make an impact when they come on the pitch or if they start games.”

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Like Yussuf, fellow striker Marcus Dinanga, who joined on loan from League Two Stevenage in January, is yet to score for the Spireites.

The 23-year-old has not started any of the last four matches, his last appearance coming against Stockport County on February 27.

Despite not scoring, he has more than played his part in the wins against Wrexham and Notts County and led the line well when Town had ten-men for 80 minutes against Dagenham and Redbridge.

“Marcus has been part of quite a few wins, he has performed very well,” Rowe said.

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“There has been a change of shape in the last few weeks which has meant that I have played with one striker and two ‘10s’ pushing on, which becomes a front three most of the time if you have the ball.

“They (Yussuf and Dinanga) have both been working hard in training.”