Chesterfield 'keeping feet on floor' despite impressive start to season, says Paul Cook

The Spireites won 2-1 at Rochdale on Tuesday night, with the goals coming from Armando Dobra and Tom Naylor.

It is the first time they have won seven in a row in 56 years but Cook insists they will stay grounded.

“You can only be delighted with the players,” he told TNT Sports after the game. “12 games in, they deserve a lot of credit. But no one at our club will be getting carried away that is for sure. We know how much hard work there is still to go this season. It is a really tough league. We will keep out feet on the ground and work very hard.”

Town did the uglier parts of the game well in the second-half as they showed a resilience about them to secure the points.

Cook explained: “In the second-half when we had to defend I thought we looked very solid, I didn’t think there was any real gaps, it is just sometimes we go a bit sloppy, we probably come off it a little bit, and that is when your senior players have got to stay on each other to make sure we drive on to get those performances. I felt Rochdale gave everything they had in the second-half without ever really opening us up.

"I think with Frecks (Miguel Freckleton) coming into the team, he has just made us a little bit solid behind the ball and it has allowed Liam (Mandeville) to be looser as a right-back so believe it or not, we are actually trying to play with a back three a bit with Mandeville giving us width on one side and (Ryan) Colclough on the other and I feel that is how we can hurt teams.”

On the goal conceded, he continued: "That is the disappointing. Our whole game plan is about being solid through the middle of the pitch, letting them have a pass wide, and then locking on when it goes wide, so you are really disappointed but now and again you have to say well done to the opposition.”

Chesterfield continued their record of scoring in every game this season, taking their tally to a very impressive 31 goals in 12 matches.

Cook added: "When we lost at Wembley last year, in the days up to it, we were really concerned about our lack of firepower. Now, with the greatest respect, we have it. But like all teams you have got to work hard to get any result in football. With the threat we carry we feel we will score.”

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