Chesterfield eye FA Cup upset with nothing to fear against West Brom – CEO

The National League club's chief executive John Croot is eyeing an underdog story with the sides set to face each other for the first time in 74 years.

It is a first trip for Albion to the Spireites' Technique Stadium, which opened in 2010.

“It is a great draw for us really, it is winnable,” the club's CEO told the Derbyshire Times. “We are certainly in with a chance and we will give it a good go.

“It is not a game West Brom will look forward to. I don’t think anybody will look forward to coming to the Technique Stadium.

“We are playing well at the moment, confidence is high in the camp and there is nothing to fear. We might as well go out and have a real go at them.

"We have got good players, even right down to the bench for our level. We will have a go against anybody.”

The third round tie will take place between January 6 and 9. The clubs last met in September 1948, a 0-0 draw at Chesterfield's old home of Saltergate.

Albion went to Saltergate for a pre-season friendly more recently, in August 2000.

“It is a club which I think many of our fans won’t have seen us play before,” Croot added. “It will be a great atmosphere.

“They are a big club and they will bring a lot of fans. It is a club which has a great history so it will be a packed away end and a packed Technique Stadium.

“We very much hope that we will be live on TV which would be tremendous.”

The tie will mark Albion's first cup clash under head coach Carlos Corberan, who guided the team to three straight wins in the Championship prior to the World Cup break. The Baggies remain down in 21st.

It is Chesterfield's fifth season in the National League after back-to-back relegations from League One in 2017 and 2018.

The Spireites are managed by Paul Cook, the former midfielder who played for Wolves between 1989 and 1994. They are currently third in the fifth tier.

The hosts are, at the time of writing, 54 places below Albion in the football pyramid.