Robert Page has insisted that Jamie Ward must stay if Chesterfield are serious about promotion.
Chesterfield skipper believes Ward should stay put for now
Chesterfield captain Robert Page has insisted that striker Jamie Ward must stay if the club are serious about promotion from League Two.
The experienced defender has been involved in football long enough to understand how it works.
The former Sheffield United man knows that if a considerable offer comes in for Ward then the Spireites will have little option but to accept it.
But Page is hoping that Ward will opt to stay with Chesterfield for this season at least to try and secure promotion with his current club.
He told
skysports.com: "The thing with players, such as Jamie Ward, at this level is that he has proven that he can score goals.
"Rightly so he has received interest from clubs in higher divisions. It's going to be vitally important that we keep hold of him, but money talks in this business and I'm sure that if the right money is offered then he will go.
"From a selfish point of view, I'd like him to stay at the club and help us achieve promotion before he gets his move."
Difference
Chesterfield currently occupy 11th place in the table but three wins from their last five games have seen the Spireites shoot up the table and Page believes Ward is the man responsible for the club's upturn in fortunes.
He said: "Jamie has been the difference for us recently. We've got two quality strikers in Jack Lester and Jamie Ward.
"When you're in a rough patch, which we have been at times this season, then when you have strikers like them two banging goals in, it makes your job a bit easier."
Ward has scored an impressive 11 goals in 15 league games for Chesterfield this season leading the club's charge up the table but the skipper is not going to get carried away.
He added: "We've scored 20 plus goals in the last four of five games and only conceded seven and all of a sudden things have turned for us.
"It's looking good in both the league and the cup at the moment. We are not going to get carried away with the situation because we know that football can be a funny game and we just have to go into each game full of confidence."
