Team spirit is sky-high

ATHLETIC goalkeeper Paul Rachubka’s exclusive weekly column

I WAS surprised when I read the comments about Raheem Sterling being too 'tired' to play for England against Estonia.

As a team, at the moment we are certainly not feeling the pace. We are regularly finishing games as the stronger side, which shows how fit we are and provides evidence of the work we put in behind the scenes.

After coming back to beat Walsall — a result that shows our toughness as well as our belief that the way we play will bring results — we are 10 games unbeaten heading to Chesterfield.

It is still early in the season, though. If we don't continue to progress, then we will be back down in the bottom half of the table again.

Tomorrow's game will feature two sides who have something to prove, for different reasons. Chesterfield will want to put one over on us again, to prove recent victories haven’t been flukes, while we owe them one for those painful losses.

We need to keep a balance between the desire to impose ourselves on Chesterfield and the need to stay focused and do everything in the correct manner.

Certainly, in that dressing room of ours there is a collective spirit. There are no cliques, which is a good sign iyt’s an environment in which everyone is accepted.

Doing well on the pitch helps, but walking into the ground every morning there are smiles all around the place. It is a very pleasant, positive atmosphere to go to work in - and long may that continu