Chesterfield boss Martin Allen won’t resign after poor results

Defiant Martin Allen has reiterated that he won’t walk away from his job as Chesterfield manager after a disappointing FA Cup exit to Grimsby Town on Sunday.
Allen’s side enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and squandered a number of chances before going down 2-0 at home to the League Two Mariners.
The Spireites are bizarrely on their best and worst runs in the club’s recent history.
They are currently 19 league games without a win – including a league record run of nine successive draws, matching the longest ever sequence in the top five divisions in English football, joining the feat of Woking in the 2003-04 Conference season.
On the upside though, they are unbeaten in 12 games – their best run of form for 12 years.
A combination of slack defending and profligacy on Sunday led to both sets of fans singing “you’re getting sacked in the morning” but Allen, the former Barnet and Brentford boss remained defiant, insisting he has no intention of throwing in the towel.
“At the end of September when we had a couple of dreadful performances and I’d get in my car and drive home without that feeling that the players are with me, that was definitely a difficult time,” the man nicknamed ‘Mad Dog’ told the Derbyshire Times.
“Right at this moment in time I don’t feel that way. I felt very calm, very measured, very level in the technical area.
“I feel upset, but not stressed out right now. My teams don’t normally lose. They win and they fight, we’ve got the fight but we’re lacking that bit of quality that we need.”
Allen admitted that the club’s owners might not be happy, but again highlighted the need to strengthen the squad when the club currently ensconced in the National League relegation zone.
He has today listed Kyel Reid, Marc-Antoine Fortune,Zavon Hines, Michael Nelson, Robbie Weir and Shwan Jalal for transfer or loan.
“We’ve cut the cloth, cut the costs, we will have to see it out,” he added. “Whether the owners are happy with that, that’s their decision.
“I’ve been here six months and it takes time to put together a proper unit, a proper squad of men. At the moment mine is short.
“I’ll be the first to admit some of my signings haven’t worked, which is down to me, no one else in the football club.
“The agreement is we do need to strengthen this team. We need some extra players, we need some better players.
“We’re giving away goals too simply and it’s putting pressure on these players.”
Allen, though, refused to hit back at the fans voicing their opinions, insisting they have a right to express themselves and says he doesn’t take it personally.
“Never ever would I criticise the paying public,” he continued. “They come and watch their club, they work their nuts off to earn enough money to come here.
“You pay your money, you’re entitled to your opinion. I have to deal with that.
“On the whole here the people have been so kind, so nice to me, so friendly and I suppose that’s what makes it more upsetting for me personally.
“Does it knock me? Of course it hurts. I’ve had a lot of resilience, I wasn’t the best of footballers but when I had bad days my dad would give me an absolute rocket. I’ve had it like that since I was a kid. It’s nailed into me.”