Lester, Allen being lined up for Chesterfield job

(Photo: Action Images via Reuters)

By Alex Beard

Club legend Jack Lester is one of the men being touted as the potential next manager of League Two side Chesterfield.

Young boss Gary Caldwell was dismissed at the weekend with the Spireites entering the League Two relegation zone following Saturday’s defeat at home to Accrington.

Director Ashley Carson stated that the club had to act, with results having not reflected the level of investment at the Proact Stadium this summer.

Lester was at the game on Saturday and is being heavily linked with the vacant position. The 41-year-old is a firm favourite with the Chesterfield fan-base having plundered 94 goals in 219 appearances for the club during a six year spell in Derbyshire.

He is currently earning significant plaudits for his work as Under-23’s coach at Championship side Nottingham Forest – with a promising career in management surely awaiting him.

At the opposite end of the experience spectrum is the other man being talked about as the next Spireites boss. Martin Allen is out of work since being sacked by non-league Eastleigh in February and boasts a nomadic managerial résumé.

The 52-year-old can claim to have been employed by eight different clubs during a 14-year career – including three spells as Barnet‘s permanent manager and one as caretaker.

Allen has won League Two with Gillingham and the National League title with the aforementioned Bees. He would surely represent the safer choice for Chesterfield after the relative gamble of Caldwell’s appointment.

Owen Coyle, club captain Ian Evatt and Steven Pressley are also being linked with the post.