John Sheridan lining up a new Paul Mitchell so Chesterfield can find diamonds in the rough

John Sheridan wants to bring another Paul Mitchell to the Proact, to help Chesterfield find diamonds in the rough.
Town boss John SheridanTown boss John Sheridan
Town boss John Sheridan

The Chesterfield boss recalls fondly how well the club's scouting system worked during his first spell, when Mitchell - now at Championship promotion chasers Sheffield United - was in charge of talent spotting.

And he's already made strides towards finding and bringing a new chief scout to the club, as well as a goalkeeping coach.

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"I want to work similar to the way I worked when I was last here," he said.

"A goalkeeper coach, recruitment, chief scout, whatever you want to call it, I think that needs to be in place.

"I don't think it'll happen this season, I've spoken to people, I think they're comfortable, just need to get everything cleared.

"There'll be a couple in the backroom staff, I think it's important I get it in place, make sure they're definitely coming in.

"It's 90 per cent so far.

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"I've got to make sure we're properly prepared for next season.

"They're all coming in for one reason, to make us better, so I'll do that."

Sheridan says his recruiter will have involvement with a new 'development squad' which will help to bring youngsters through to the first team.

And he's keen to ensure Chesterfield are first to find players who haven't yet made names for themselves and haven't yet earned big price tags.

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"If there's players out there we need to get them watched more and more, on a regular basis, not just for one game, to make sure they're the right people if we can get them in.

"I want to try and get back to how I worked when I was here last time, we were successful. And it went on to Cookie, a good mate of mine, went on with Mitch, finding players.

"I think you need those people.

"There might be one or two little diamonds out there who go unnoticed. You need someone who knows the game and can identify players, it's not just about giving someone a job.

"I think the chairman is all for it.

"I've got someone in my mind.

"It's just to benefit the club.

"The cheaper we can get them the better for us."