By Phil Tooley

The first man to be offered an extended deal by Roy McFarland during this season was striker turned midfielder, ex Oldham Athletic player Mark Allott. Having joined The Spireites towards the end of 2001 from his only other pro Club, Mark has blossomed into a ball playing, passing midfielder whose name is one of the first to go on the team sheet, quite a change for a man who, as a striker, was frequently in and out of both the Latics and Spireites first eleven's. Whether playing on the right, as he did do for most of last season, or centrally, which has been his most common role this term, the 28 year old Mancunian gets about his business with quiet efficiency, rarely taking huge plaudits, but even less frequently, giving a performance that doesn't make the team tick.

Possessing an excellent first touch and great vision, it was former Manager Dave Rushbury that initially spotted the engine room potential to convert Mark to midfield, and since Rush's bold move, Mark's hardly looked back. His regularity in the team now means that he's played more league games for Chesterfield than he did at Oldham, despite being at Boundary Park for much longer than his four years here, so does he look back on his Boundary Park days with fondness or are they now a distant memory? "I still look back fondly, Oldham Athletic was where I started my career but it's good now that I've played more games for Chesterfield than I did at Oldham and with signing an extended contract I hope to play a lot more games here." Does he keep in touch with life at our North West rivals? "I still speak to John Sheridan quite a bit, he was a player there when I was and is now on the backroom staff, but I don't keep in touch with so many of the other lads. They seem to have a very big squad there, much changed from my time, they've needed a big squad because they've had a lot of injuries recently, though David Eyres seems to just keep on going, he's 41 now, just brilliant, he keeps himself fit and just keeps on going."

As for how Mark regards himself these days, striker, midfielder (wide or central!)? "I enjoy it a lot more in midfield, you see a lot more of the ball and I don't mind working hard in the position in the middle, I'm just enjoying playing. I prefer the centre of midfield to a wide position but so long as I'm playing I don't really mind where I play."

One aspect this season has been the competition for places. With Mark vying for a central berth with Derek Niven, Sammy Clingan and Gareth Davies, whilst wide roles can be taken by Paul Hall, Kevan Hurst and Adam Smith, no-one's guaranteed a starting place on a Saturday, no doubt something that keeps everyone on their toes, "You've got to work hard every day in training to prove that you're worth your place in the team. The midfield are also scoring quite a few goals this season, more that we've done in the past, so that's good for the competition as well."

Talking of goals, Mark's finest hour this season came during the second half at Walsall. Two down at half time, Roy McFarland brought on Wayne Allison and Colin Larkin at half time and their introduction and a goal from Allison plus a brace from Mr Allott earned us a fantastic victory, snatched from the jaws of defeat. Why the change in fortune? "We came out in a very positive mood, we didn't feel that we should be afraid of them, so we went out and just got in amongst them and they had no answer really, they didn't seem to be able to handle The Chief or Larks, we took our chances and came away with three points."

Mark's two goal return earned him, along with Wayne, a place in that week's League One Team of the Week, something that's become a regular home to Chesterfield players this season, so is there a competition amongst the lads to get into that virtual line up? "It's always nice to get into anything like that, we've had quite a few different lads get in this season, it's great for the team and it gives the club some much needed recognition as well, hopefully we can get someone in each week but the main thing is to keep on getting the right results every week. We don't set out before a match to try and outdo each other to get into the Team of the Week, but it's a good reward if you get nominated."

A permanent fixture in the side this season, barring his suspension against former side Oldham, following 45 from 46 starts last term and 35 starts (plus 5 as sub) in 2003-04, Mark is enjoying a period of sustained selection he's never experienced before, his busiest Oldham season saw him start 32 games and appear as sub in 9 more in 1998-99, so how much of a shot in the arm is that for the midfielder? "It's brilliant, great for your confidence. When you're playing every week you can just look forward to the Saturday in the right frame of mind, especially when you're doing well like we have been for most of this season and especially when the competition for places is as tough as it is at the moment, again, it's good for the team."

And last season brought an honour too, Mark's winner at Stockport County back in February won the Goal of the Season award, a great left footed volley from distance after teeing himself up from a seemingly impossible position, "I enjoyed that goal. I remember that I wasn't having a particularly good game, but when I hit that shot to win the game it was great, we were close to 50 points then so just needed a few more which we got of course. It's always good to watch again on the DVD! It was nice to get the vote of the fans to win the Goal of the Season award. I've been here a long time now and it was a great touch that it was the fans that voted the goal as the best of the season."

Four years at Saltergate, over 150 league games for The Spireites since making his debut as a striker on December 21^st 2001 in a 2-2 draw at Brighton, what strides forward has he seen the team make? "We're a lot more organised on the pitch, everyone knows their jobs and we're all playing as a unit. We're all good mates on and off the field, which is a good thing. However, it's suspensions and injuries that can get us, we've not got a huge squad but if things do get bad on that front, we've got the ability to bring in loan players, but the strength of the squad we have now is good and there's plenty of competition."

Finally, can we keep up the form we've seen in the first half of the season? "Yes, with luck with injuries and suspensions, we need to keep focused, keep on doing what we're doing and look where we are as the end of the season approaches, hopefully having picked up plenty of home points and nicked a few away as well. You never know!"