Wilson: It's a tough division but why shouldn't we aim for promotion?

The veteran manager guided Town to safety last season after replacing Dean Saunders around Christmas time.

Ahead of his first full season at the Proact, Wilson says he has been given no set target, but doesn’t feel the club should aim for anything other than success despite competing in a league with some big spending outfits.

“We’ve just got to the do the best we can,” he said.

“You’ve got to be realistic in one respect, it’s a very, very tough league we’re in at this moment in time with some big clubs in there.

“But underdogs sometimes come to the front and we’ve got to make sure every game we go into we use it in our advantage.

“If we go to Bolton we’ll be underdogs, if we go to United we’ll be underdogs.

“We’ve got to maintain that because we can unsettle people.

“The remit I suppose is let’s get promotion. It’s not actually been said but why shouldn’t we aim for it?

“I think if we put our best team out every week and can avoid injuries and suspensions, if our strongest 11 goes out every week we’ll have a chance against anyone we play against.”

Chesterfield supporters got a glimpse of the kind of quick, attacking football Wilson wants his side to play during the second half of Tueday’s friendly against a Leicester City XI.

He admits his summer recruitment was partly aimed at addressing a lack of speed in last season’s squad.

“We didn’t have that last season, we didn’t have that pace in enough positions last season,” he said.

“You’ve seen this year we’ve arrested that, we’ve made sure we’ve got players in key positions going forward and defensively who have got pace.

“As a unit that makes us a lot stronger and a lot more of a threat.

“We’ve got to play to our strengths and if that’s one of our strengths we’ll try and take it to the maximum.”

Although he’s not yet brought in the left-sided centre-half he spoke about during pre-season, Wilson is content with the squad he has assembled, albeit conceding it’s a small one due to the financial restrictions faced by Chesterfield.

If he does add to his squad, room will have to be made through departures.

“I’m more than happy with the lads we’ve got here now,” he insisted.

“We’re on the light side in terms of numbers but we expected that anyway, that’s the way budgets are.

“I think we’ve just got to get on with it. People who know me know that I just get on with it.

“I’m not one of these to moan about not being able to have this or that, I don’t operate like that.

“If we add one or two then great but if that’s the case we have to let one or two go, that’s the dynamic of the club at the minute unfortunately, that’s the way it is.

“If I have to go into the season with what I have right now I’m delighted with them.”