Tuesday 25th March 2014

The debate still continues as to whether it was one point gained or two points lost for the Spireites at Mansfield on Saturday.

In my view, we won't know until tonight. Three points against Morecambe at the Proact and four points from the two games looks a fairly healthy return.

Anything less than three points on Tuesday - and it will be hard to avoid using the word 'paltry' to describe the points haul.

Results on Saturday saw the Spireites drop to third place in the SkyBet League Two table. Rochdale are now top, three points ahead of us and with a game in hand. Scunthorpe are second, one point ahead and also with a game in hand.

So far this season, the focus has largely been on the top position and which teams pose the biggest threat to our Championship ambitions.

We now have to accept that whilst it would be great to win the Championship, the 'must win' prize is automatic promotion (if we were to perform badly enough over the last few games to drop out of the automatic places, who would fancy our chances of winning the play-offs?)

So, in terms of finishing the season in at least third place, our nearest challengers are Fleetwood and Burton. We are six points ahead of both teams - but they each have a game in hand.

If we can pick up three points against Morecambe then, with only six league games left to go, automatic promotion moves a lot closer.

Paul Cook says this is "the biggest game since he came to the club". He also says it is bigger than next Sunday's Wembley appearance. I doubt there will be many Chesterfield supporters at the Proact Stadium on Tuesday who would disagree with him on either point.

I sincerely hope the extra thousands of fans who turn up at Wembley on Sunday get their 'good day out' but if we beat Morecambe, I'll be a happy man until a week on Saturday, regardless of what happens at Wembley.

Morecambe are 14th in the table with 48 points from 38 games. They are nine points clear of relegation, so should be safe - and may even fancy a tilt at the play-off places which are only seven points away.

Last Saturday, the Shrimps drew 1-1 at home to Northampton. An Andy Wright own goal on the stroke of half-time put the Cobblers ahead but Padraig Amond equalised in the 75th minute.

Their last victory away from home was nine games ago, 2-1 at Mansfield on the 30th November last year.

The two sides met earlier this season on the 5th October. The previous Saturday the Spireites had suffered their first League defeat of the season at home to Mansfield.

Despite Chesterfield dominating the whole game, the Stags escaped with a 1-0 win.

Given the opposition, it was undoubtedly a painful experience, but it was the sort of thing that happens in football and at the time was easy to dismiss as 'one of those things'. Still top of the table - no need to panic!

At half time at Morecambe the following week, it looked like normal service had been resumed (if not surpassed), as goals from Eoin Doyle (2) and Gary McSheffrey put the Spireites into a comfortable 3-0 lead.

45 minutes later the world was turned upside down as we had somehow contrived to lose the game 4-3!

It was certainly a body blow - and one from which arguably we have never fully recovered. Since that game at Morecambe, we have at times played the same high quality football as before but never with the same consistency - and victories have been much harder to come by.

Morecambe and Chesterfield have faced each other 12 times in total. Morecambe have won five (including an FA Cup game at Saltergate when they were a non-League team), six have been drawn and Chesterfield have won one. That was at Morecambe in January 2010 when Martin Gritton scored the only goal of the game.

Drew Talbot and Dan Gardner resumed training for the Spireites on Monday. That's almost certainly too late to earn either of them a place in the starting lineup for Tuesday, but a place on the bench is a possibility.

Gary Roberts has been struggling with a thigh strain recently and Paul Cook may decide to rest him. Cook has said that Mason Bennett, on loan from Derby County, will start the game.

Spireites midfielder Jamie Devitt is currently on loan at Morecambe but he will not be playing on Tuesday as previously agreed by the two clubs.

The League table shows that Tuesday is not a 'must win' game for the Spireites. However, anything other than a win and the nerves will surely start to jangle.

Three points and the world will look a brighter place - and we can look forward to Wembley and those crucial last six League games with optimism.

For more information and other CFC news, go to www.chesterfield-fc.co.uk

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