Chesterfield’s Dave Bentley insists that ‘it’s pleasure to go to work’ each day in his role heading up the Club’s youth department.
Bentley who has been in his current role for over a decade has recently seen youth-team graduate Jordan Bowery leave for Aston Villa and he admits nothing gives him more satisfaction than seeing one of the Club’s home-grown talents progress in the game.
“I was very proud,” Bentley told the Chesterfield Post. “Jordan was a smashing lad, I remember him coming to the Club. He was a very quiet boy – he looked as though he had a lot of potential but it needed nurturing.”
“He worked very hard with me in his two years as an Apprentice and obviously, got a pro contract and he’s taken things on from there.”
“I hope he can now step up to the next level and do well at that.”
“We get a new influx each year. I try to work on 9 new boys each year, so we have the new boys working with 9 who’ve been here the previous season, and we’ve been successful over the last few years.”
“Obviously, the icing on the cake has been Jordan who’s just moved to Aston Villa through the system, so it’s a feather in the cap for everybody in the Youth Development Department.”
“We’ve had a lot of very good boys come through in the last few years that are in the first team at the minute – Tendayi Darikwa, Craig Clay, Jordan, Jamie Lowry and Dan Gray for example.”
“Jordan Burrows was another one and is now making a career for himself at Morecambe. And Jacob Hazel of course, who got his first start last week and I hope he can take it on from there now.”
