Chester FC: Chris Simm reckons Blues have quality to beat former club Chorley

Feb 17 2011 by Dave Powell, Chester Chronicle

Chester FC: Chris Simm reckons Blues have quality to beat former club Chorley

FORMER Chorley striker Chris Simm believes his Chester FC team-mates have nothing to fear when they take on his old side in Saturday’s top-of-the-table showdown.

Simm, who joined Neil Young’s charges in January from Blue Square Premier outfit Southport, spent a successful period on loan at Chorley earlier in the season.

Having had a foot in both camps, the 26-year-old thinks his new team have the quality to return from Victory Park with three points and an even tighter grip on the Evo-Stik League First Division North crown.

“It will be great going back to Chorley on Saturday with Chester,” said Simm, who has netted three times for the Blues since his protracted move from Haig Avenue was finally completed last month.

“I was only on loan there so I never had any real affinity with the club. They really wanted to keep me but I wanted to try and get back into the Southport side.”

Simm added: “The quality of the players we have here should be enough to get all three points. I think anything less than that would be a major disappointment from our point of view.”

After initially having reservations about making the permanent drop down from full-time football in the Conference, Simm is sure he has made the right decision in coming to the Exacta Stadium.

“I knew Neil was interested in signing me earlier in the season but I was really trying to get back into the Southport side and play at the highest level I could,” he said.

“I had a mixed pre-season and had a deal on the table at Bradford City in League Two but it fell through at the very last minute which was really disappointing for me.

“Although I didn’t want to drop down to this level initially, the quality of the football is of a high standard and most of the lads here at Chester have played higher. That said, we won’t be at this level for much longer.”

A long-time target for Blues boss Young, Simm is now concentrating on helping his new team gain promotion – and taking the goalscoring burden off the prolific Michael Wilde.

“I have set myself the target of 10 league goals between now and the end of the season so I’ll hopefully take some of the burden off Wildey,” he said.

“He is a great player and has been in top form all season.

“I’ve played against him before and he’s always scored goals wherever he’s been.

“We have hit it off straight away and it is great playing alongside him. He has been making my job a lot easier but hopefully now I’ll be able to chip in myself and take some of the pressure off him.”

The form of Wilde and Simm has led Young to extending Rob Hopley’s loan at Colwyn Bay until the end of the month.

Young, who has inserted a 24-hour recall clause, said: “I believe recalling Rob now and putting him on the bench would undo all the good work and fitness levels he has improved over the last six weeks.”