Chesterfield could benefit from Notts County being eventual favorites for promotion from the National League, says Spireites assistant manager Danny Webb.
Notts finished 23 points clear of Chesterfield at the end of the regular season and were promoted to automatic promotion by Wrexham, despite collecting 107 points.
Both teams needed more time in the semi-finals to reach the Wembley final.
“We come into the game as slight underdogs,” Webb said.
“And obviously they will have a bit more supporters than us.
“In a way that could work for us because in every game this season we are favorites – just like Notts County and Wrexham – home or away. Now if that helps, time will tell.
“We’re up against a very good team, but we’re also a very good team, so it’s going to be a hell of a game for the neutrals.”
Chesterfield were the only team, apart from Wrexham and Notts, to have a spell at the top of the table after the first month of the season.
The Spireites failed to beat Notts in the regular season, with the Magpies battling two goals to draw 2-2 at Meadow Lane in August, before beating 10-man Chesterfield 2-1 away in February.
Macaulay Langstaff scored in both games – including a brace in their tie – en route to earning a National League record 42 goals for the season.
Notts County captain Kyle Cameron said the Magpies “expect a tough afternoon” against their East Midlands rivals at the National Stadium.
Notts, who needed a last-minute winner from Jodi Jones over Boreham Wood to reach the final, are just one win away from resuming their role as ‘the oldest Football League club in the world’ – the one he lost when he was relegated from Ligue 2 in 2019.
“Being captain and leading the guys at Wembley is a once in a lifetime opportunity so I’m really looking forward to it,” he told BBC Radio Nottingham.
“I can’t wait to go out there and take all the pressure and excitement from the fans and hopefully that translates into a good performance.”
“Chesterfield must be at its best”
Analysis – BBC Radio Sheffield’s Adam Oxley:
It’s rare, as assistant boss Danny Webb explained this week, for Chesterfield to be overlooked for a National League game. But they are, given the 23-point gap in the final league table to other former English Football League (EFL) regulars Notts County.
The Spireites aren’t big underdogs though, having led the Magpies twice this year, and with mid-season signings Andrew Dallas, Ryan Colclough and Paul McCallum having made a real impact on the pitch, Paul’s side Cook ended his campaign strong. shape vein.
It represents Chesterfield’s best chance of returning to League Two after five years in the National League, having nearly fallen into the sixth tier just a few years ago before two play-off failures in the past two seasons.
The Spireites will need to be at their best at Wembley to beat a side that should have been promoted automatically, but as the National League play-offs have already proven this season, anything is possible.
“It’s surely Notts’ season”
Analysis – BBC Radio Nottingham’s Magpies commentator Charlie Slater:
Every fanbase of every club claims their team is the most stressful to support, but that’s just not true unless he’s a Notts fan.
I mean, where to start? Missing out on the then untold riches of the Premier League by a single season, administration after administration, relegation, promotion, big escapes, more executive dismissals than virtually any other club.
And don’t even get me started on fake zillionaire owners.
Yet Notts County lives on. By relegation to non-league after a 157-year stint in the Football League, through three failed play-off campaigns in a row.
The Notts County fan lives on.
They broke club, league and tier records this season, finished 23 points better than Chesterfield and pushed Wrexham all the way.
In any other National League season, they would have been promoted weeks ago. This is surely their year. Surely this club and these supporters have endured enough.
