Former Sheffield United stalwart explains shock Chesterfield move following Blackburn Rovers exit

Fleck left Sheffield United in the dying embers of the winter window, ending a lengthy association with the Blades to join Blackburn Rovers.

An injury on his Blackburn debut spoiled his time at Ewood Park but the club confirmed they were in discussions with the midfielder at the end of the season.

Despite talks, a contract extension did not materialise and Fleck has dropped down two divisions to represent Chesterfield in the fourth tier.

Speaking about the initial contact, as reported by the Derbyshire Times, Fleck said: “I live in Sheffield and got in contact with Paul (Cook, Chesterfield boss) and the staff, they let me come in and train and it has led to me being here now.

“It was initially with a view to keeping up my fitness, until about the second day I think, when I spoke to the manager to see if there was an interest in me staying.

“I was a free agent in the summer and was just initially looking to keep myself as fit as possible and recover from an injury.”

Fleck has not had a full pre-season but has confirmed he is available to play a part for the Spireites immediately.

He said: “I have kept myself ticking over the whole summer, but it can be difficult to keep up fitness levels when you are working on your own. I was doing some boxing training over the summer and had people to work with some of the time.

“I feel great now and I will keep getting fitter and fitter as I go. I have only trained for just over a week so match sharpness will probably take some time, as it always does, but I'm available for selection and we will just wait and see.”

The Scotland-capped midfielder is close friends with his former Sheffield United teammate Enda Stevens, who is familiar with Fleck’s new manager.

Fleck explained: “I'm obviously very close with Enda, who was close with Paul and Gary Roberts during his time at Portsmouth.

“I spoke to him about the move and Enda told me how they operate. As with most managers, it's just about hard work and if you give 100 per cent you can't go too far wrong.

“The manager has got plenty of experience around him, who have been involved in great levels of football. I will just keep working hard and play my game.”