Liddle orders re-think on Chesterfield safety

Liddle believes the scrap to avoid the drop will go right down to the final week of the season.

A survivor of three League One dog fights with previous clubs, Liddle spoke in the wake of Saturday’s disappointing 4-1 loss at home to Walsall and predicted a rough ride to the season.

“If we thought six points was going to be enough to see us safe, the lads have got to think again,” he said.

“It’s a real tough end to the season and I think it will go all the way.”

On a cruel afternoon at the Proact, where the Spireites lost Dion Donohue to a red card, results elsewhere were kind to Liddle and his team-mates.

None of the sides below Chesterfield in the table picked up a win, and both clubs positioned between the Spireites and the drop zone, Fleetwood and Doncaster, were on the wrong end of 2-1 scorelines.

Liddle said: “It’s been good elsewhere.

“It depends how you look at it though. It was a chance to increase the advantage over the relegation places, or it’s exactly the same.

“We’ve taken a bit of a hit on the goal difference side, but it’s still all to play for.”

The former Bradford City man believed everything was going to plan until Donohue’s sending off.

“Going into half-time we felt pretty confident we could come out and impress our game on them again,” he said.

“The second half wasn’t ideal for us. It was a disappointing day for the football club.

“People will see the scoreline and think it was a total domination, and after the sending off it probably was, but up until then it was pretty even and could have gone either way.”