Has Chesterfield loan prepared Liam Shaw for Sheffield Wednesday first team honours?

The midfielder turns 19 next week and was brought in by former Owls legend John Sheridan to provide the Spierites with more quality in the ball as their descent down the fifth tier continued.

He spent much of November and December with Chesterfield, playing four matches. And he believes his spell with their first team has given him the knowledge and desire to press on towards senior appearances with his parent club.

He said: “Getting that first team experience is huge and what strikes you straight away is the focus is all on winning and everything is structured towards that, whereas Under-23s is more about development.”

“It was good for me to go out on loan but I’m back here now and for the rest of the season I just hope to play well and keep scoring which will come if I keep working hard.

“The aim is always the first team and I’ve been in and around it a bit, as we often train with them which has been great. The manager is always watching us so just got to impress him and hopefully make a squad.”

The Star Chesterfield writer Liam Norcliffe watched much of Shaw’s Spireites spell and said it while it was difficult to assess his contribution on the pitch, he believes he may well have pushed on under new boss John Pemberton.

“He played central midfield, looked to be comfortable in possession and did not shy away from receiving the ball,” said Norcliffe.

“In all honesty he was not the type of signing Chesterfield needed at the time but he didn’t let himself down. It would be interesting to see how he would get on now given the Spireites have won five of their last eight under John Pemberton who has a good reputation for developing young players.

“What I will say is he will have probably learnt more from the three starts he made than in a whole season of playing under-23s football.”