Paul Cook said Chesterfield’s stunning 5-0 romp at Crewe was “one of my best days in management”.
The Spireites’ three-goal blitz inside the opening 12 minutes set them on the way, with James Berry netting twice and Will Grigg also on target.
Skipper Tom Naylor punished the hosts’ tame defending after 28 minutes before Armando Dobra added a fifth in the second half as Chesterfield registered their first success of the campaign.
Cook said: “I am delighted with the lads, I just enjoy watching us play.
“The lads have taken everything on board, but everything won’t go our way this season as this league is a really tough league. We had young lads out there making their debuts and I was delighted with them.
“We’re a learning team and we’ve been lucky enough to bring the likes of Dilan Markanday into the building. He’s just got quality and I love flare players with quality and we’ve got good players here now.
“When you have players like him who can do a bit then we’re really lucky.
“The lad hasn’t played at lot in pre-season and he was out on his feet when we took him off, but he played really well and he looks a really good player.
“We’ll enjoy our night tonight as it was our day today – it was one of my best days in management. But Crewe will bounce back from that and it’s not that long since they were at Wembley.”
The visitors were on the mark after just 32 seconds when Berry chipped an audacious effort over the head of Crewe goalkeeper Filip Marschall from 20 yards.
Grigg doubled the lead when he touched Naylor’s flick-on from Markanday’s delivery at a short corner, before Berry side-footed a far-post finish from Grigg’s cross.
Naylor added a fourth and, in the second half, Dobra surged clear from Lewis Gordon’s pass to tuck a neat finish into the far corner across Marschall.
Crewe have only won once in their last nine outings at Gresty Road.
Alex boss Lee Bell said fans should blame him and not his players for the heavy defeat.
Bell said: “It was a hard watch from the sidelines and we’ve had a good meeting with the players afterwards and we’ve got to put our words into actions now.
“I apologise to the fans for that and I know I am going to be under scrutiny after losing 5-0 at home and having not won at home for an extended period. I will take everything that people throw at me after that.
“The early goal should not have set the tone, but there are no excuses as the performance was unacceptable. We were comfortably beaten and it could have been more.”
Interim boss Stephen Frail expects Motherwell to appoint a new manager next week and admits their first job will be to lift the players’ confidence after a 3-0 mauling at home to Ross County.A double from Ronan Hale and Connor Randall’s last-minute strike secured an impressive victory for the Staggies at Fir Park.Defeat sees the Steelmen drop into the bottom half of the Premiership tab...
Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalkeeper Gabe Breeze after Carlisle picked up a vital point in the League Two relegation battle with a goalless draw against in-form Colchester at Brunton Park.Breeze made two excellent saves from Lyle Taylor as the Cumbrians ended a four-game losing run and the former Man City boss was astounded by the 21-year-old’s performance.He said: “The game had som...
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook launched a scathing attack on his play-off hopefuls after they surrendered an early lead to lose 3-1 at Sky Bet League Two table-toppers Walsall.The Spireites enjoyed a rapid start when Jamie Grimes’ eighth-minute header put them ahead against a wobbling Walsall side, who were winless in five matches with the chasing pack closing in.However, Bim Pepple and Dylan D...
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has allayed fears of an injury scare to top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid.Haaland went down clutching his leg in the latter stages of the champions’ 4-0 Premier League thrashing of Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and was immediately substituted.Losing the Norwegian would be a major blow to ...
Rotherham manager Steve Evans described Thomas Parsons’ performance as “atrocious” after the referee awarded a stoppage-time penalty from which Reading snatched a 2-1 victory in League One.Reading had led 1-0 at half-time through top scorer Harvey Knibbs but Sam Nombe levelled for Rotherham from a spot-kick in the 57th minute.With the game heading for a draw, Parsons adjudged Mil...
Michael Flynn believes his team can make a charge towards the League Two play-offs places after watching them come from 2-0 down to beat Barrow 3-2 at home.Matty Taylor scored twice before fellow substitute Ashley Hay hit the winner as the Robins continued their perfect home record in 2025.Cheltenham climbed to 13th in the table and sit eight points off seventh-placed Crewe with two games in hand....
Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised Jay Stansfield’s work ethic after he lit up St Andrew’s with the only goal of a 1-0 win to sink play-off chasing Charlton.Stansfield’s 23rd-minute strike stretched City’s lead to nine points ahead of second-placed Wycombe, with Blues boasting a game in hand.Victory was City’s 30th in all competitions as they extended their unbea...
Andoni Iraola refused to get carried away after Bournemouth fans were left dreaming of a potential Champions League adventure following a first league double over south-coast rivals Southampton.Travelling Cherries fans chanted of playing in European football’s premier competition next season after their side soared to fifth spot in the Premier League table thanks to a deserved 3-1 success at...
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup praised his side for fighting back to draw 1-1 at Hull after he demanded “I want to see my football team back”.The Norwich boss had some tough words for his team as they trailed 1-0 at half-time to the relegation-threatened side, including for Kellen Fisher – but the player then delivered the assist for Josh Sargent’s equaliser.The Un...
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Jota has a chance of starting against Bayern Munich after scoring and impressing in a 3-0 victory over Dundee United.Jota earned the club’s man-of-the-match award after cutting in from the left and curling home from 18 yards to double the lead given to the hosts by another impressive finish from Callum McGregor.The Portuguese winger has now started two gam...
