Chester FC - Calum McIntyre provides an update

The Blues Boss wanted to take the opportunity to write directly to Chester FC's supporters, ahead of the final thirteen games of the season.

This feels like the perfect time to provide a clear update on a number of things around the First Team Squad. We feel as if we are in a really positive moment right now, and we are excited to see what the final part of this campaign has in store.

Firstly, I wanted to reflect on the reshuffle that took place within our squad during January. I felt that the 10 day period between fixtures against Southport and Buxton respectively would give us the opportunity to make personnel changes to the squad to allow us to improve in the second half of the season.

January saw Mitch Hancox, Cam Mason, Charlie Caton and George Glendon all depart the club. This freed up money within the existing wage budget to reinvest in the squad. We acquired Connor Woods from Warrington Town on a permanent transfer as well as picking up Dan Mooney as a free agent after leaving Boston United and Fin Roberts on a short term loan from Crewe Alexandra. We then added Jack Lambert to the squad last week.

We obviously paid a fee for Connor and in doing so became one of the 10 clubs in the top 12 teams in this division who has paid a fee for a player in the last 18 months. It is obviously the first time that we have paid a fee for a player in my time as manager and I am delighted with Connor’s start to his time with us. I’m not sure many players arriving at a club in January will have won won 6 of their first 7 starts for their new club. He is a hard working and industrious forward that I think will continue to improve with us.

Dan Mooney is someone I have always been an admirer of. Things didn’t work out for him at Boston and once we were able to get him as a free agent it was an absolute no brainer. He’s made an immediate impact with two key goals and I know how crucial he will be between now and the end of the season. The first challenge with Moons has been getting minutes into his legs after a period of inactivity. I feel like we are nearly there with him physically and he will be a hugely important player for us during the final games of the season.

Fin Roberts has obviously since been recalled by Crewe but had a great month with us. He is another who scored two important goals for us during his short spell and is someone I think has a bright future. Crewe have recalled him given their own situation and I hope he really kicks on there and shows what he can do.

Jack Lambert is someone who has proven himself to be among the most talented players in the division. We felt that in recent seasons, we had lacked the quality and the fire power to unlock teams at the Deva and we wanted to be proactive in our recruitment to change this. It isn’t always tactical but sometimes personnel is hugely important and I thought Jack showed his quality on Saturday. He will create and score goals and this will be hugely important, especially in the games at the Deva. Different players can thrive in different environments and I knew within five minutes of our conversation over a Corona at the Queen Hotel that Jack would thrive with us in our changing room.

George Glendon’s departure saw Connell Rawlinson named as Club Captain. Connell is someone who commands respect amongst the group and has real experience of real success. He has taken to the role really well and the role Connell has played in the rich form of Harrison Burke shouldn’t be understated.

January obviously saw us put together a really good run of wins. I’ve been happy with the group’s performances and general results for a real period of time now. We drew a line in the sand at the end of October after a disappointing week and we have been really consistent since. We never really had anything to shout about in the cup competitions this term but our focus has always been on achieving that promotion that our fans so desperately crave. We have never been too far away from the Play-Off positions in what is the most competitive National League North in over a decade. It has never been as tight in the top spots and is a reflection on how evenly matched this year’s division is.

I hope that a good run of results in January isn’t the headline of our season but there is no getting away from the important role it has played in setting up the final third(ish) of the season. We improved our away form significantly and continued our impressive home record and this has played a huge part in developing that vital connection between the supporters and their team. You have seen other Managers in the division draw reference to the impact of our fans in recent weeks and their support for the team has been magnificent. Our home support will be vitally important in the remaining games this season but I have been stunned by the huge numbers of away supporters that have travelled real distances since the turn of the year. The following at Radcliffe was incredible as were the numbers in the snow at Buxton and on the road at Peterborough Sports and South Shields. I am so pleased the supporters have recognised the players’ efforts in recent months and the connection between the team and the fans is as a strong as it has ever been ahead of a crucial few months.

I was gutted to see Ben Pollock leave the club this week. Ben is a terrific player for the level and someone I felt would be a big signing for us during the summer. He is a great character and someone I think a lot of. He is popular with players and staff alike and is an obvious loss. Ben has a young family and has found the travelling more difficult than he may have thought which has been even more extreme since Mitch Hancox left the club in January. We have revisited Ben’s situation a few times and I have done everything I felt I could to get him to honour his contract but it became the right thing for him to move to Spennymoor for a fee to be closer to his family and to remove the travel implications. You never want to lose top players, particularly when they are top people too, and Ben certainly is one.

There is obviously a lot of comings and goings at this level and I totally understand any supporters frustration when they see players leave the club either permanently or on loan without perhaps being given the full details. It isn’t always practical or the right thing to do to constantly update with every detail regarding every player and I have always adopted a policy that I am happy to be called an idiot if it means protecting one of my players publicly. That has been the case at times with a number of situations.

Jack Bainbridge limped off during our game against Kidderminster Harriers which is an obvious loss to the group. Bambo has had a great season and it is a shame to lose him. I hope we will see him again before the end of the season but we will have to plan without him for now.

Scott Burgess also sustained an injury as a result of a tackle on Saturday which will rule him out for a number of weeks. It has been a really frustrating season for Scott. He has real, obvious ability but has not played for a number of months ahead of joining us. It has been hard to truly get him up to speed with limited training sessions during a busy fixture schedule and this set back is immensely frustrating for him.

We have brought Tom Leak in on loan from Boston United with a view to replacing Ben Pollock. We didn’t want to downgrade the group around experience or age and Tom comes to us on the back of winning promotion from this league last season. He is a useful acquisition for us and will be straight into Saturday’s squad.

With Jack Bainbridge’s injury, there is a need for a holding midfielder. We have identified our ideal target and are hopeful we can get something over the line. It’s a vital role and it’s important that our replacement brings the right physicality, athleticism and size to the group. It’s important we bring in someone that can contribute at set pieces in both boxes and has the right personality to settle straight in. We have been working on something and I’m hopeful it comes off but nothing is ever done until it’s done.

Dylan Mottley-Henry and Dan Turner are both out on loan at this moment in time. Dylan is available for selection with us as well as being available for FC United whilst Dan can be recalled at any point. I would be comfortable involving either at any point and Dylan will play a part for us over the next two games.

Both wanted games and managing our budget means we need to keep players playing and avoid having lads sat in the stands. Dylan is without doubt one of the best characters around and I think a lot of him.

Given the reshuffling we have done, even without touching any of the transfer fees received in 2025, we can add to the group. We can only name five loan players in our Matchday Squad which means that if we dip into the loan market again, it has to be right for us as any further loans would lead to a slightly different selection situation.

We have maximised our playing budget this season by running with a smaller group, it has meant that we have developed a really tight knit squad that is among the smallest in the division.

During my first media commitment in this role during May 2022, I gave our supporters a guarantee that they will see a Chester team that gives absolutely everything they have to help the club succeed. I want to reiterate that promise to our fans ahead of the run in to the end of the season. This group of players will fight for everything there is to play for during the next 13 games. They will give everything. That is a promise.

Recent team selections have seen us regularly name three homegrown Academy Graduates in our Starting Eleven, with our two leading goal scorers having come through the Academy. We now have five players in the squad that have made over 100 appearances for the club with two approaching 200 in upcoming games. Our Club Captain is one of two players at the club who came through the Youth setup at Chester City, as well as our Assistant Manager who represented the club in the 1980’s. The clubs history runs throughout the club, from top to bottom.

This entire squad have immersed themselves in the club. Whether Chester is their past, present or future they are all in. I promise you that.

We have 13 games remaining. We will travel seven times and we will kick towards the Harry McNally terrace six more times this season. I have asked a lot of our supporters during my time here and I am asking them again now to play their part in helping us achieve our aims between now and the end of the season.

Back us in numbers on the road. Every point matters and every game between now and May is an enormous test under real pressure. Your support is massive and doesn’t go unnoticed.

At the Deva? Sing up. Make it a difficult place for the opposition to play and help us get over the line in the upcoming home games.

The connection between the team and the fans is a huge part of success at this club. It is as strong as it’s ever been and we are going to do everything we can to get the club where the supporters want it to be.

We will give it everything and we need you to give it everything alongside us. There are 13 games to go.

Thank you for all your support. I know what this club means to you and I know what the demands are.

I am a Chester fan and I am a Cestrian.

– Calum.