Why Chesterfield's squad is shaping up nicely two months before new National League season

It has now been confirmed that 13 players will depart the club when their contracts expire at the end of this month, leaving the Spireites with a squad of 21 as it stands.

There were no major surprises when the retain list was announced this week.

The main talking points beforehand were whether Tom Denton and Nathan Tyson would be staying and we now know that they will be.

Denton has some critics but for me it was a no-brainer to keep him.

He scored nine goals in 15 league games before he suffered a knee injury in January which ruled him out for the rest of the campaign.

Dents’ aerial ability was missed at times last season, particularly in defending set-pieces.

He would have been a great option to have against teams who parked the bus against Chesterfield last season.

If he had been released, I think pretty much every team in the National League would have been interested in him.

Will he be Plan A next season? Probably not given James Rowe’s pressing style of play. But the last thing I would want as a tiring opposition defender is to see him come on with 20-25 minutes to go.

I would back him to score some winners off the bench next season and, given Akwasi Asante won’t be available until around Christmas, he might play a bigger part than some people might think.