Chesterfield manager Paul Cook makes National League claim after Wrexham and Notts County promoted to EFL

With Wrexham and Notts County no longer in the division, the Spireites are firm favourites with the bookies to be crowned champions.

All eyes will be on the Blues, but that is something they have had to cope with anyway for the last five years in this division, so that is nothing new.

But with the players they have signed already, including experienced EFL pair Tom Naylor and Will Grigg, they are in a strong position to deal with the added pressure.

The increased expectation is also why Cook has selected tough pre-season friendlies against higher league opposition in Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County, Bristol Rovers and Accrington Stanley. Cook wants them to be fully tested and be put in difficult situations so they know how to adapt when certain scenarios crop up in proper matches.

“We are going to be the team in the league next year that everyone wants to beat,” Cook told 1866 Sport.

"Wrexham have gone, and Notts County, they carried the same mantle as us. Next year, possibly Oldham a little bit, the EFL clubs that have come down, but we will be the one, we are going to be the big scalp in the league next year and we have got to make sure we turn up as much as we can and as regularly as we can and as consistently as we can.

"I felt the town was a really good place to be at the end of last season, and let’s carry that on into this year.”