‘Bizarre’ summer ends in Spireites return for Allott

Mark Allott (right): back to Chesterfield

MARK ALLOTT is seeing double again.

The midfielder has rejoined Chesterfield after two spells at Boundary Park.

“I don’t know if any other players have done that before,” mused the 31-year-old from Middleton.

Allott admitted it had been a “bizarre” summer. He left Athletic after rejecting their offer of a new 12-month contract. He had been holding out for a two-year deal.

Tranmere Rovers agreed to his demands and Allott headed for Prenton Park, only for manager Ronnie Moore to be sacked days later. Allott quickly followed suit without featuring in a competitive match.

He said: “I played a couple of pre-season games for Tranmere and then manager John Barnes brought in two new midfielders.

“I had a chat with him and I ended up moving to Chesterfield. It was a surprise, but fortunately it has worked out well in the end.”

Allott was reunited with his former Athletic manager John Sheridan, who took charge of the Spireites in the summer.

And it was a case of home from home for Allott, who spent six years at Saltergate before returning to Boundary Park, where he had kicked off his career, in 2007.

Allott has even linked up with Phil Picken again. The pair used to commute together during his first spell at Chesterfield.

He said: “There are also a couple of other lads living over this way, so we share the driving. It also reduces the money we have to spend on petrol.”