Barry was speaking to Phil Tooley

Goalkeeper Barry Roche was one of many triallists that featured for The Spireites this summer, appearing in games at Matlock Town, Scarborough, Halifax Town and at home to Malaga, during which time, added to his performances in training, he did enough to win a contract at Saltergate.

At 6'4", the Irishman has the perfect physique for a goalkeeper and right from the start, that's been his position, no great surprise as his Dad was a keeper with League of Ireland club Bray Wanderers. "I started playing football when I was 6 or 7 and I remember having a football from first being able to walk," says Barry, who began playing for a few clubs such as Leicester Celic and his Home Town Club, Wicklow Town. However, he joined Leeds United as a schoolboy and was due to sign on as an apprentice there until ex Chesterfield Manager Paul Hart moved from Leeds to Nottingham Forest and, says the keeper, "He asked me to go with him, so I went to Forest."

As one of a trio of Republic of Ireland lads now at Saltergate, all of them 23 years of age, surely Barry must have come across Colin Larkin and Alan O'Hare! "I played with Colin in the Irish Youth set up but not in the local leagues and I'd not met Alan until I came here."

It didn't take Barry too long to taste League football for the first time. On 28^th August 2000, at the age of just 18, he was on the bench for a game at Crystal Palace. The vastly experienced Dave Beasant was in goal for Forest and all was going well, David Platt's side were 3-0 up and coasting before the Londoners' pulled a couple back and looked like getting an unlikely point, especially when Beasant committed a foul, conceded a penalty and was sent off in the last minute! Off the bench came the big teenager as sub for outfielder Jack Lester, facing Julian Gray's spot kick. A memorable first moment in the big-time! With 19,000 at Selhurst Park, the majority of them Palace fans, it was a no-lose moment for Barry, who was beaten from the spot kick but in an instance, the referee saw an infringement and ordered the kick to be re-taken and our man saved it to keep maximum points for the former European Cup winners. "It was a very nice moment as was going on to make my full debut a couple of weeks later when Dave was suspended. I was nervous but not half as nervous as I expected to be. I went out with the attitude that it was my debut and go and enjoy it, which I did." The game? A 1-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday, Lester scored the winner in a line up that included Marlon Harewood, Dougie Freedman and Chris Bart-Williams.

The win at Hillsborough was Barry's last first-team game that season and he didn't feature in any during the 2001-02 campaign either but he did have a bit of a run in 03-04, coming on as a sub for Darren Ward in the 65^th minute of a 0-0 draw at home to Gillingham. He retained his place for a few games including Forest's biggest match (and no doubt disappointment) of the season, a 4-2 defeat against deadly rivals Derby County. He made an incredible third sub appearance at the end of that season for Paul Gerrard, so three sub appearances for three different keepers!

Last season Barry had a couple of games for Forest, both disappointing results, a 4-1 defeat against Coventry and a 3-2 loss at Plymouth, lost through a last minute penalty from Paul Wooton, his last serious action for our near neighbours. "We'd been two-nil down and done well to get back into it then they got a dubious penalty in the last minute. It'd been a difficult weekend because we'd been beaten on the Saturday against Coventry and two days later, on Bank Holiday Monday, we travelled to Plymouth and lost in those circumstances, very disappointing."

Indeed, it was disappointing for Barry not making the proper breakthrough to claim a regular place in the team he'd hoped for, "I didn't expect to be in the team after making my debut at 18 with Dave Beasant there, a very experienced keeper, but in the next few years I was disappointed not to stake a place for a more regular place in the team. At times when I did get a run, maybe I didn't do myself justice."

So plenty of reserve team football at the City Ground, so just how different is that level of play compared to that experienced in league games? "There's a massive, massive difference! For reserve games, you're playing in an empty stadium, no pressure on you, the results aren't 'be-all-and-end-all' but when you step into a first team game, the result is everything. There are thousands of people watching and it all means much more to everyone."

So, a successful trial period with Chesterfield and with Carl Muggleton still recovering from an operation at the end of last season, the first team shirt must have been something Barry expected after signing his contract, "No, I didn't take anything for granted. I came here as a triallist, my main aim was to win a contract and when I did, I thought I'd just take it from there and see what happened. Carl's been absolutely tremendous, the two of us work very well together, we work hard and we get on like a house-on-fire, he's been very supportive towards me and helped me out whenever I've needed it."

Once again, a winning debut, 3-1 at Blackpool, "It was tremendous, everybody associated with the Club got a big lift from it, but the results that have followed have been a bit disappointing after such a good first performance."

Chesterfield's second win, by the same scoreline at Yeovil Town, was very much down to Barry, who made some saves of quality and, in the course of the match, huge value. "We went a goal down when we didn't really deserve to, got back into it and in the second half got two great goals and then in the last 20 minutes they threw the kitchen sink at us but we defended brilliantly." Roche was, of course, instrumental in that brilliance, saving (at full stretch) Bastianini's penalty kick and making a stunning double save from the resulting corner, as well as fighting off a couple of one-on-one's, indeed that element of his game has been in rude health in recent games, he repeated his feats at Bradford City in similar situations to deny Cooke and Claridge, so is that an element of his game he's always been good? "I like to think I'm good in those situations because I stand up and make the players score rather than maybe going down too early and making it a bit easier for them, but you always need a bit of luck as well, maybe have him hit it straight at you or at your leg and maybe rebound to safety."

With injuries to Aaron Downes, Janos Kovacs and even Steve Blatherwick, there's been plenty of chopping and changing in front of Barry, so does that make his role more difficult? "During pre-season we played mixed teams and any defence I've played behind, I've felt comfortable with. However, results haven't always gone our way but whoever's been playing in defence has done a job and I just have to get on with it."

Having been at a club like Forest, Barry has tasted life at a higher level and with a very well supported, historically impressive club, so what ambitions does he have for the future? "This season, we need to keep winning more games keep up at the right end of the table, beyond that, first and foremost I'd like to establish myself here as number one keeper."