'The minimum expectation' - Dion Kelly-Evans has had to bide his time
Chester right back has been an important part of the recent upturn in form
The defeat by South Shields on Saturday aside, Chester have shown enough in recent weeks to suggest that they should be looking up and not down the National League North table.
The Blues head to AFC Telford United on Boxing Day looking to cut the gap between them and the play-offs to a point. Taking in the mood among the camp following the 3-1 Shields loss, where Chester were excellent in the opening 45 minutes and early in the second half before the North East side put on a clinic in how to strongarm a football match at this level, there was little in the way of a loss of confidence, the defeat seen more as a bump in the road.
After all, it was a first defeat in eight games, and in that run of fixtures the Blues had, in the main, managed to tighten up what had been an issue for them earlier on in the campaign, where defensive frailties had been exposed, particularly at set pieces.
Coming into the season, losing your best player, a player who was also one of your leading goalscorers and who was head and shoulders above most in the league, was always going to be a near impossible challenge. Harrison Burke was an irreplaceable gem for the Blues.
New blood arrived during the summer, both at the centre back spots and at full back, with Dion Kelly-Evans one of those to come through the door at the Deva Stadium. The 29-year-old right back arrived with a strong pedigree, having come through the ranks and spent three years at Coventry City before spells at Kettering Town, Notts County, Banbury United and, last season, Woking.
