By Ian Wilkerson

It's so much better than playing in front of empty stadiums on a cold Tuesday night Chesterfield keeper Barry Roche

You get to travel with the team and be involved in everything apart from what really matters - playing on a Saturday afternoon.

And while all the win bonuses are very nice, you have to get some first-team outings sooner or later before perspective managers begin to rule you out because of your lack of experience.

That's why Barry Roche is delighted to have moved from Nottingham Forest to Chesterfield.

His seven years at the City Ground saw him make just 10 starts, so, in many ways, a free transfer to Saltergate has proved a blessing, 37 appearances for the Spireites later.

The 23-year-old told BBC Sport: "The biggest priority for me last season was trying to find a club but it has all worked out really well.

"There hasn't been much upheaval and the fact I have been playing regular first-team football has been a big bonus.

"The last few years at Forest were very disappointing for me because I was unable to make a breakthrough. It was time to get on with it.

"If I hadn't been able to play some games, I don't know where my career would have gone.

"I have had 30-odd league games and that's more than the last seven years put together. It's just a shame I picked up this thigh injury that will keep me out for a couple of weeks but I hope to be back very soon."

It has led to a change of atmosphere and a greater emphasis on results than he ever had while playing for Forest's second string.

"At the start of the season, it took me four or five games to get into the swing of it but since then it has been a pretty easy transition," said Roche, who has represented the Republic of Ireland at Under-21 level.

"It's so much better than playing in front of empty stadiums on a cold Tuesday night.

"When you play in the reserve team, results don't really matter but now I get to play in front of about 6,000 and results are the be all and end all."

Despite trailing sixth-place Brentford by seven points, he believes Chesterfield could still get into the play-offs and defy the odds available at the start of the campaign.

Roy McFarland's side have been in Spain this week to try and recharge themselves for a final push over the last 11 games.

He said: "When you read the papers earlier in the season, we were virtually odds-on to go down.

"But teams like Southend, Colchester and ourselves have done really well this season.

"Going to Spain gave us a change of scenery and the chance to recharge the batteries a bit. The hotel and training facilities were first class.

"To get promoted would be fantastic. Everybody expected us to go down and it has only been for the last couple of months that people have begun to take us seriously.

"Any time I got into the team at Forest, it would only be due to injury and a game here and there.

"You couldn't put in a string of performances because you knew the other bloke would be coming back in.

"But now, having played regularly, you know you cannot allow your performances to dip.