Evans: Spireites Have All The Motivation They Need For Notts

Skipper Will Evans thinks so.

Two points above the bottom three isn't where anyone connected with Chesterfield wanted to be at the end of October.

It took the Spireites 11 attempts to bag their first win of the season - and with a crunch clash with old foes Notts County on the horizon, Evans is confident the only way is up.

"We started off very poorly. You don’t want to blame it on bad luck, but it seemed like everything was going against us," he explains.

"But we’ve had a turn in form and last two or three games we’ve done well but we needed to because if we hadn’t beaten AFC Fylde and Wrexham, they would’ve extended their gap from us but now we’ve gone above them, so they were massive wins for us.

"Sometimes it needs a match with a bit of an edge like a big local derby to start that turnaround in form.

"We haven’t been very good at home and we haven’t played too well either. But this is the kind of game we’re looking at to say this could be the turning point and we can kick-start from here again."

It's not just on the pitch where the shocks have happened this season either.

Long-serving AFC Fylde boss Dave Challinor left the club after almost nine years at the helm. Bryan Hughes and Craig Hignett were also given their marching orders by Wrexham and Hartlepool.

Things are done a little bit differently at the Proact Stadium, however.

"Everyone at the club believes in the manager, especially the players" Evans added.

"It’s too easy to change your manager now in football and some clubs do it out of nowhere. The gaffer has proven himself with promotions in the past, he’s not someone you can just say it didn’t work for him.

"But we’ve kept faith in him as players and I think that’s shown in the last few games that we’re behind him and behind one and other and we believe we can start moving up the table."

Saturday's live BT Sport clash also sees a first for National League football.

For one game only, the two sides will be playing with a blue and orange ball as part of the MANarama campaign to raise awareness for Prostate Cancer.

The special balls will then be auctioned off after the game to raise much-needed cash for the fight against the killer disease.

"It’s a massive thing," Evans said. "As a person in the public eye, I wish I could do more.

"I’m not an overly well-known footballer but if I was, I would love to do more charity work because it’s so important to use our platform we have as footballers to raise awareness and be a role model to everyone around you because people do look up to you."

Prostate cancer kills over 11,000 men every year - that's nearly one every 45 minutes. The charity - Prostate Cancer UK - wants to stop men dying from this disease and is focused on funding the research that will bring radical advances in diagnosis, prevention and support.

You can help the fight against Prostate Cancer by donating here.