"We might surprise a few people" - Nathan Tyson on "easy" decision to join Chesterfield, turning down EFL club and wanting success

The 38-year-old - who is believed to have signed a one-year deal - enjoyed his brief loan spell at the club in the second half of last season where he scored three goals in six games.

The experienced forward revealed to the Derbyshire Times that he received offers from elsewhere - including one Football League club - but Chesterfield was always his “first choice” and that John Pemberton kept in touch with him throughout the lockdown period.

Tyson, who said there was no bad feeling towards Notts County after being released, explained: “I had a couple of offers that I really had to think about but Chesterfield was always going to be my first choice. One club literally wanted an answer straight away and this was back in April/May but I said I wanted to wait a couple of months because I didn’t want to commit to something and then regret it later on down the line. If I had taken the offer on at the time it would have been the wrong choice - I am not going to say what club it is - but I wish them all the best. They sounded very ambitious as well. Another club was in the EFL but that came quite late but I’m not going to divulge into it too much but it would have been a lot of travelling to be honest.”

He added: “I am very grateful that I have been offered a contract and it has worked out in my favour so it is now that I need to return the favour and put in the best performances that I can.”

The former Derby County and Nottingham Forest man, who has been dabbling with a bit of DIY during lockdown and spending some quality time with his family, impressed everyone during his short loan stint at Town last season and Tyson was equally happy with how he was received by his new teammates and the fans and that played a big part in him wanting to return.

“I loved it,” he said. “The lads were fantastic and welcomed me well as did the fans. I liked what was going on, it was really positive, the lads looked like they were starting to get their confidence up every game so it was a really easy decision. I was back playing again, I was enjoying myself and I had a smile on my face. It worked out in the end and I am looking forward to the season ahead.”

The Reading-born former England youth international is aiming to play until he is at least 40 but still has that hunger and desire to achieve success despite being in the game for 20 years.

“If I was coming here for the last pay cheque I wouldn’t be here because the other offers I had were bigger,” he said. “What I am about is success and what my wife or anyone will tell you is that I want another promotion. If you focus on the last pay cheque you are going to fail. That is not the right way to go about it in my eyes anyway.”

The Spireites have endured two seasons of struggle in the National League but Tyson says he is “excited” at what they might be able to achieve as “underdogs” this campaign.

“If we conduct ourselves right we might surprise people but ultimately we need to improve on what we finished last season and see where we are,” he said. “We just need to take each game as it comes and see where we are at. That excites me to be honest rather than having that expectation of being the favourites to go up because that can really hinder you. We are certainly going to be underdogs this year I think. The only way is up really in my eyes.

"We’ve had a new takeover and there’s positivity around the club and that positivity is going to breed new life into us on the field as well. It is something that I am excited about and it was another big reason why I signed.”

The squad has started pre-season training this week in small groups with a lot of ball work involved as they build up to their first friendly against Belper Town in September.

The pacey forward said he has been impressed with the attitude of young lads Jamie Sharman, Regan Hutchinson and Luke Rawson who have been “absolutely fantastic.”

Tyson has been joined at the club by Milan Butterfield and a familiar face in Jordan Cropper who he believes has got a big year ahead of him to show everyone what he can do.

If the Blues are to be successful this year then “patience” will be key, says Tyson.

He added: “It is a new chapter for the club and it sounds like it is going to be positive. I just hope the fans will be patient. I think patience is the word for the next few months, just to be patient with us. If we don’t win a certain game just don’t get too downhearted because there are plenty of games this season we can correct it. The form we were showing before everything went into lockdown I thought it was pretty good and it shows we were pushing in the right direction.”