Walsall will walk into 'ferocious atmosphere' against Chesterfield in play-off semi-final first leg

The play-off semi-final first leg against Walsall is a sell-out for both sets of supporters as excitement builds around the town ahead of this weekend. With the Sadlers having an allocation of just over 1,000, they will be massively outnumbered by around 9,000 Chesterfield fans who will be willing their team on.

The Blues have averaged home crowds of about 8,500 this season, while their away average is 1,000, which highlights the positive feeling around the club which has been built over the last few years under Cook and the Kirk brothers’ ownership and that of the community trust. More than 5,000 season tickets have already been sold for next season and that is without knowing what division they are definitely going to be in.

Town fans sucked the ball into the net against Bradford City over the Easter weekend, helping to earn their side a late 3-3 draw, and Cook is calling for more of the same on Sunday.

He said: “One thing we know is that we will have a ferocious atmosphere in the stadium on Sunday, that is one thing you can guarantee. “Our fans got us an equaliser against Bradford, make no bones about it, we were on the floor.

"Supporters are there for good and bad. They are not just there for good days. You are not a true supporter if that is you. Our fans, especially latterly, have really helped our players when we have needed them most and trust me we will need them.”

Cook returned to manage Chesterfield in February 2022 and they have since lost a National League play-off semi-final and final before winning the title last season. His aim is to get the club back to ‘knocking on the door’ of the Championship which is where he left them when he departed for Portsmouth in May 2015.

Reflecting on his time at the Spireites, he likened it to that of a rollercoaster, although he joked he does not enjoy such rides as much as his kids do. He laughed: “I like the rollercoaster when it pulls back in at the end, I like calmness believe it or not.”