Defeat 'not the end of the world' for either Chesterfield or Barnet as National League title rivals clash

The title rivals, who are separated by just two points at the top of the table, face each other at the SMH Group Stadium on Saturday. The match has been talked about for a number of weeks now and a crowd of more than 9,000 is expected.

Webb told the DT: “We have prepared well, as best as we think we can. If the players can recreate the enthusiasm, ability and effort that they have shown so far then we will have a good day. The players are fully focused. Even before Pompey the players were fully aware that Barnet is a far more crucial game for the direction we want to go in. We don’t care if it’s a boring affair but we would like to do it in our style of football.”

A win for Chesterfield would give them a nice cushion but a defeat would send the Bees top.

"The boys know the permutations,” Webb said. “They know that if Barnet win they go top but we will have a game in hand so it is not the end of the world. If we win we go five points clear with a game in hand but there will still be a lot of football left to play so it is not the end of the world for Barnet. It is not the end of the world for either team whatever happens. There has been no big speeches or meetings about the importance of the game. Nothing more or nothing less than when we played Kettering in the FA Cup.”

Barnet have lost just twice this season and Webb is fully aware of their threats, including striker Nicke Kabamba, who has 11 goals in 18 games. He scored a hat-trick against Town last season.

"They have scored the second most goals behind ourselves, a lot of them have come through Kabamba. We will need to keep him quiet. They are organised, they have got some strong players at the back, some physical presences, they have got little Dale Gorman who I had at Leyton Orient, who is one of the best midfielders in the league, (Zak) Brunt has gone in there, I could go through them all. They can flitter between two formations so we will see which one they go with tomorrow. They have got a manager who is a good motivator.”