21 July 2023 , 08:00
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When Chesterfield signed Will Grigg last month, it is safe to say there were some raised eyebrows over why the Northern Ireland international decided to drop down to non-league.
Grigg, 32, has been a prolific scorer in the Football League since his professional debut for Walsall in 2008, scoring 148 goals in 502 appearances. In fact, the ex-Sunderland forward is the second top League One scorer of all-time following the division's rebrand in 2004/05 - behind Ian Henderson.
However, after a below-par campaign with relegated Milton Keynes Dons, Grigg has chosen to move and sign a three-year contract with fifth-tier Chesterfield. In the process, Grigg has been reunited with Paul Cook after the pair were together at Wigan, while ex-teammate Gary Roberts is also part of the coaching staff.
Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football, Grigg detailed the reasoning behind his move to Chesterfield - and he admitted working again with Liverpool-born Cook was a key factor. He said: "I followed the National League last season and saw them narrowly miss out.
"Working with the manager before was probably part of the reason why I kept an eye on it. It was a strange one for me as I signed for Milton Keynes thinking I would finish my career there.
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"For one reason or another, it didn’t work out and we had a difficult season. I spoke to Gary Roberts and the manager, and feeling at first was exciting for me. The initial conversation was that it had to be something special for me to drop down. And when they put down the plan and what the club has to offer, it was something that was quite surprising to me and something that I wanted to be a part of.
"If Paul Cook wasn’t the manager, it might have been a different conversation but he was a massive part of me coming to the club. Since I’ve signed, everything about the club; the fans, the stadium, the training ground, the stadium has been excellent."
Will Grigg struggled for form at MK Dons (Getty Images)Grigg re-joined MK Dons last summer following his departure from Sunderland. Having narrowly missed out on promotion back to the Championship in 2021/22, The Dons were one of the favourites to finish inside the top two.
But everything seemed to flip on its head. They ended up finishing 21st, an 18-place drop-off from the previous campaign, with Grigg finding the net just five times in 42 matches. Although Grigg thought he would stay at The Dons for the rest of his career, he admitted that a move to the Spireites was an easy decision.
"It didn't take much convincing to be honest when I spoke to everyone about the vision, the ideas and what they want to do," he added. "It's not just about this year, it was something I wanted to be a part of and that’s why I signed a long-term contract. It helps knowing the manager, I had probably one of my most successful seasons under him.
"We understand each other, he gets how I play on the pitch and I know how to play in his system, which is to put the ball into the back of the net pretty much. He wants me to be in the right positions, which I pride myself on and that’s proven in my goalscoring record.
Will Grigg in action for Chesterfield against Sheffield United (Getty Images)"I want to get that first one as soon as possible when the season starts and go from there. The amount of quality we have in the side is clear to see, we have lots of talented players. But it's going to be a tough year, the dressing room isn’t underestimating how hard it is.
"We will probably be the biggest scalp in the league this season, having lost Notts and Wrexham. There is a lot of pressure on this and that comes from outside and inside. We understand the task at hand and we will be doing all we can to accomplish it."
Chesterfield agonisingly missed out on promotion after losing in the National League play-off final last season, with Wrexham and Notts County both going up. However, the Spireites, who face Dorking Wanderers on the opening weekend, will be eager to go one better this time around and book their place back in the Football League for the first time since 2018.
When asked about the season-opener in just over two weeks time, Grigg said: "I'm really looking forward to it, pre-season comes around really quickly and we've played five games already.
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"A lot of training to get into things but everyone is desperate for the season now and everyone is looking forward to the first game. It's nice being at home, so we've got two more friendlies and then we’ll be bang at it."