Lester: Discipline and intelligence underpinned pressing game

Chesterfield fan out 3-2 winners but created a host of chances that they didn’t take, several of which came from forcing the visitors into errors by quickly closing them down.

Lester revealed that the plan was to target a number of Rovers players who they believed would take an extra touch and allow Chesterfield to win back possession.

Frontman Kristian Dennis was supported by Andy Kellett, Louis Reed, Jak McCourt and Joe Rowley in hassling Mark Cooper’s side, which led to a number of turnovers of possession and cards for Rovers players.

The way his players executed it impressed the boss.

“I thought they did it really well,” he said.

“When you play that pressing game it’s important you don’t go past the football.

“We did that really well tonight, the traps we set, the players we targetted.

“They were really disciplined in that, they nicked the ball time and time again.

“I thought their intelligence of when to go was top drawer.”

Another pleasing aspect was that the trio of players on four yellow cards for the season did not pick up bookings and can all play in Saturday’s derby at Mansfield.

Sam Hird, Kristian Dennis and Robbie Weir were on a tightrope against Rovers and before the game Lester had to perform a balancing act.

“Quiet words with one or two, but I didn’t want to take away the aggression of one or two,” he said.