By Pete Oliver

Lester turned down offers from other clubs to join Chesterfield

Chesterfield striker Jack Lester hopes success at his new club will help ease the pain of his departure from Nottingham Forest.

He helped Forest into the play-offs last season but his second spell at the City Ground ended in heartache as promotion slipped from their grasp.

"It was disappointing to leave, as I thought we should have got promoted last year," he told BBC Sport.

"It would have been nice to have left with a promotion."

He added: "We were 10 points clear at Christmas and then led in the play-offs against Yeovil and let it slip."

"I suppose the biggest thing was not getting to Wembley. That was a hard thing because you don't know when that chance will come along again.

"I was very fond of Forest and would have liked to have left on a bit of a high, but it wasn't to be.

"That time was up and now I'm looking forward to being at Chesterfield and hopefully winning something here."

Lester was released by Forest boss Colin Calderwood and not surprisingly found himself in demand thanks to his quick feet in the penalty area and a consistent goalscoring record in Nottingham and during spells at Sheffield United and Grimsby Town.

We have got a bit of work to do to get back up but I think we are capable of it Jack Lester

Joining Chesterfield meant a drop into League Two following the Spireites' relegation last season.

But Lester, 31, is backing the club to bounce back under the guidance of Lee Richardson and committed himself to a three-year deal at Saltergate.

He said: "There were a few decisions I had to make. I had a few good offers but some involved moving house and I wasn't prepared to do that.

"I wanted to stay in the area. I spoke to Lee and liked what he said.

"I thought it would be nice to be involved with something on the up with the planned new ground and things like that so I decided to come here. Hopefully the club will be on the up in the next few years."

Despite struggles on and off the field in recent seasons, Chesterfield have spent only one season in the bottom division since 1995.

And Lester is optimistic that their latest stay will not be a long one.

"We have got a bit of work to do to get back up but I think we are capable of it," he said.

"That was something I had a look at before I came and with Steve Fletcher and Gregor Robertson and people like that coming in I knew the club was looking for promotion.

Lester was impressed by former player turned boss Richardson

"There are the right people in the team to get that."

Former player and assistant manager Richardson was placed in charge in April and one of his top priority jobs over the summer was to forge a new frontline.

Chesterfield had 21 scoreless games in the league last season so Lester was head-hunted along with ex-Bournemouth stalwart Fletcher.

And Lester is already up and running with both of Chesterfield's two goals to date, contributing to an unbeaten start in the league but unable to avoid a Carling Cup defeat at Sheffield United.

"It was nice to score at Bramall Lane against one of my former clubs and it's nice to get a couple of goals early on to settle in," he said.

"I don't set targets, but if I'm playing up front I'd hope to score a few this year.