Friday 8 August 2014 16:31, UK
A new contract for Liam Cooper is on Chesterfield's agenda following recent interest from Leeds in the central defender.
The Spireites last week turned down two offers for Cooper from the Championship club because neither matched their valuation of the player - which is thought to be approaching the £1million mark. The 22-year-old is in the final 12 months of the two-and-a-half-year deal he signed when making his permanent move to Chesterfield from Hull in January 2013. Blues boss Paul Cook insists the club do plan to take the necessary steps - finances permitting - to safeguard one of their prized assets. "It is encouraging that we are in a position where we don't have to sell our players and we can turn down offers when they come our way. It shows we are doing something right," Cook said. "We have worked on new contracts for the likes of Sammy Morsy, Jimmy Ryan, Tendayi Darikwa, and a few others, to make sure other clubs don't just come and try to take our players, because we do have some very good players at this club. "We don't want to see players run into the final year of their contracts and run down their deals - we want to stop that happening. "The financial situation at the moment has been well documented but we certainly don't want our players running down their contracts and then leaving for nothing." Asked if that applied to Cooper specifically, Cook sarcastically replied: "No, we're going to let his contract run down and let him leave on a free!" Chesterfield, League Two champions, begin life back in the third tier on Saturday with a trip to last season's play-off finalists Leyton Orient. Cook added: "I expect them to be right up there again this season challenging for promotion, but then that has to be our aim too. "With the squad we've got, to go into our league without thinking we can get promoted would be foolhardy. That is certainly the aim. In my opinion, it should be the aim of every club. You should always strive to be the best you can be. "If we fall short of our aims then it won't be for lack of work and effort, that's for sure."