John Sheridan waiting for calls on two potential signings but preparing to go to Aldershot with what he's got

John Sheridan has made offers to two '˜good players' who want to come to Chesterfield.
Chesterfield FC v Bedford Town, manager John RitchieChesterfield FC v Bedford Town, manager John Ritchie
Chesterfield FC v Bedford Town, manager John Ritchie

A week into his second spell as Spireites supremo, Sheridan is awaiting phone calls to confirm the deals - for a striker and a defender - have been completed.

Without giving too much away, Sheridan revealed they were players who knew his methods.

“I’ve made offers to two people now,” he said.

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“They’re interested, they want to come, it’s just getting it over the line.

“I could get a phone call today. I’ve spoken to the two players, they’re both in the process of trying to get out of the club, sort things out where they are.

“I’m waiting for them to come back to me.

“It could be today, it could be Monday.

“They’re two good players anyway. They know me, the way I work. And they’d both be very good additions.

“One is a striker, one is a defender.”

Sheridan, who also admitted he would like to get someone in who could provide pace on the flanks, is quite prepared to be patient to get the right players in.

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“I can’t make a player come here, I can’t make a club make the player come here.

“I think if I bring players in they need to be the right people to help us in the position we’re in.

“I’ve asked people, I’ve made it clear to a couple of players, they want to come, sometimes you have to bide your time.

“I’m not going to bring players in just for the sake of it.”

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Whether or not Chesterfield can get the deals confirmed is irrelevant when it comes to Sheridan’s preparations for Saturday’s National League relegation battle at Aldershot.

He’s readying the players he will definitely be able to call upon.

“I’ve got to focus on what I’ve got at this moment in time, what I’ve got available to play Saturday,” he said.

“We need a squad of 16 but I had 21 in training this morning.

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“I’m not even taking four or five players tomorrow, who are fit, who could play in the team.”

One area in which Town’s squad have plenty of options is defensive midfield.

Sheridan is keen to ensure they’re getting goals from the middle of the park too, however.

“I think we’ve got a lot of players in midfield.

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“I want midfielders scoring goals. The last time I was here you had Whitaker getting 15 from midfield, Smalley, Dean Morgan.

“It’s not just the centre forwards. I want attack minded players. We need to score from all areas because we’ve got to win games.”

He sounds quite content to work with the midfielders he’s got, if needs be, to get the results Town need to stay up.

“If I can get a good holding player I’m going to try and get one, or work with one, whether it’s Robbie Weir, Smith, Weston,” he said.

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“I want them to play and I’ll give them a direction of what a holding midfield player does.

“If I want two midfield players bombing on and getting in the box, whether it’s Rowley, Beestin, Reid if I play him in there, they’ve got to know what their job title is and what they need to do for the team.

“That’s my job as a manager. Whoever I play they need to know how I want them to play.”