It’s oh so quiet - John Sheridan cites former Spireite as example of what Chesterfield and the modern game is lacking

Speaking after a disappointing 3-2 defeat by Eastleigh on Saturday, when his Spireites twice threw away a lead, Sheridan highlighted the absence of on-field accountability.

He says his players aren’t pulling each other up on errors.

“What we let go by on the pitch is too much,” he said.

“Young Ellis is 18, he’s going to be a good player, him. He’ll be a good player Ellis Chapman.

“But he’ll switch off in games.

“I would like someone to say to him, Ellis come in here a little bit, don’t push up so high, where are you going.

“We don’t. We just allow him to switch off. There’s other players who switch off and we allow it to happen.”

Sheridan would like someone other than himself or assistant Glynn Snodin to be the one barking the orders during games.

“We’ll mark one player at the back, we’ll have one striker and we’ll keep the three marking the one, instead of saying you go on, release yourself, step in 10 yards further up as a half midfielder. We never ever do it. They don’t see it and you’ve got to do a lot of things for them.

“I can keep shouting, but I get sick of my own voice sometimes.

“I watch them and I’m thinking why are you allowing that? You’re 2-1 up, demand that you should be doing this.”

Although he’s praised the players regularly for the way they’ve responded since his arrival, picking up vital wins to move out of the relegation zone, he’s hinted at changes in the summer.

And leadership is evidently a quality he wants to introduce.

Sheridan cited a former Spireite as both an example of what the club needs and a dying breed in the modern game.

“I‘ve got to get those individuals with the mentality of not liking losing, giving the ball away cheaply, making the game look hard,” he said.

“I had Mark Allott here, he kept everyone ticking over, had a little streak in him when people weren’t doing it properly. You need those kind of players.

“You need leadership. That’s why I’m on about Mark Allott.

“The only one that’s vocal in the team is probably Robbie Weir. Everyone else is so, so quiet.

“But I think that’s just football nowadays.

“That’s today’s football, for me.”