One of Chesterfield's summer recruits, David Buchanan recently talked about objectives he his hoping to achieve whilst on and off the pitch this season.
The former Northampton and Preston player takes his first stride into England's fifth tier, but he is raring to go and looking forward to his new challenge with the the Spireites.
"I’m looking forward to playing here," said Buchanan. "It’s a beautiful stadium and the lads are telling me that the fans will support you in their numbers and get right behind you.
"It’s important that we start the season well. We’ve got to start off with a good performance and a good win to make sure the fans keep coming back.”
Glynn Snodin was assistant manager at Preston during the left-back's stint with the Lilywhites, which included promotion to the Championship in 2015.
Buchanan revealed how both Snodin and John Sheridan were inspirational in his move to North Derbyshire.
"When I met the gaffer, I had a good conversation with him. Previously, I had spoken to Snodin, the assistant manager, who I had worked with at Preston for a few years. We had been successful with promotion to the Championship and we got into the play-offs the season before that. So, they were a big influence in me coming here."
Chesterfield finished 14th in the national League last season and Buchanan is determined to make sure that Proact Stadium at least sees play-off football next term.
He said:"I want to be successful. I want to come here to try and help the lads and get this club out of this league. That’s the aim for everybody at the football club, in and around the dressing room and for the supporters. We’ve got to aim for top spot and if not, we’ve got to aim for the play-offs.
"I’ve played against Chesterfield a lot in my career and we beat them when I was at Preston in the play-off semi-final. It goes to show that this club should be a couple of leagues above but for whatever reason, we are where we are. It’s up to us and the rest of the lads in the dressing room to stick together as a group and make a bit of history.”
At the age of 33, Buchanan has started looking towards a future after hanging up his boots. A journalism course at Staffordshire University helped the Rochdale-born player create a couple of different avenues away from the playing side of the sport.
"I’ve finished my degree now. It wasn’t something that I really wanted to do until I got a little bit older and I realised you need to get yourself educated and do something after football.
"I still want to stay in the game and be a manager or coach if I can and that’s my initial love and passion. I’d like to give something back. I think I’ve got a lot to offer in that department but, doing the journalism side of it is good," said the former Bury player.
"I’m just really interested in that side of it. I already started last year doing a bit for the radio on BBC Radio Northampton. I had a Cobblers show which I co-presented, and I really enjoyed it. I do enjoy that side of journalism and in this league, I would like to get a few jobs on the TV. It’s a difficult industry to get into but, the course I did and the degree I did was enjoyable."
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