Chesterfield: Wilson shock at O'Driscoll boot

The Chesterfield boss said O’Driscoll’s exit from visitors Walsall was ‘very strange’ but insisted the Spireites would prepare for the best Saddlers side, rather than the one slipping down the form table.

“I was shocked at first, very surprised,” he said of O’Driscoll’s sacking.

“I don’t know what it is, I’m not here to talk about other clubs and their policies, but when you see that you find it very strange, particularly when they’re having a very good season. I think it surprised everyone.”

Walsall might be winless in six, but Wilson expects a big response from the Saddlers players after a turbulent week.

“The players have got to turn it around, and I’d expect a reaction,” he said.

“We’re preparing for that, not for a team who haven’t won in a few games.

“You see the team that’s third in the table.”

The Saddlers have impressed Chesterfield’s manager this season, recent results aside, and they remind him of two other League One rivals.

“They’re a very good side, albeit with a bit of a blip,” he said. “They’ve got some terrific young players and they’re very well organised.

“Walsall are very similar to Crewe and Swindon in lots of ways. Although they’re young, they’ve been together for a while.

“We’ll prepare for a very, very tough challenge and a team who are, on merit, near the top of the league.”

Wilson could name an unchanged Spireites side from last weekend’s win at Southend. Chris Herd is back in training but unlikely to return.

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