GARETH AINSWORTH hailed his players after seeing them destroy League One Chesterfield 5-0 in the FA Cup second round.

A hat-trick from Scott Kashket plus goals from captain Paul Hayes and defender Anthony Stewart gave the Chairboys an incredible victory against the Spireites and a passage in the third round where they could be drawn against Premier League opposition.

Ainsworth couldn’t hide his delight with how his players performed yesterday. He said: “We never lost concentration.

“We knew it would be tough and if we could turn it on we may have a chance but the way we did it was very emphatic and we didn’t switch off.

“I thought Adebayo Akinfenwa was unplayable at times. We played every pass at the right time at the right moment. I told them to dream and think about who you want to get and to make those dreams reality is incredible.”

Matchwinner Kashket’s contract runs out on December 31 and unsurprisingly Ainsworth explained he would love to keep him a lot longer.

“I spoke to a few people who had him and they said he was a midfielder. I took one look at him and immediately thought he was a striker and I am pleased to have been justified so far,” added Ainsworth.

“We will try and keep the best players we can and that includes Scotty, especially considering he has nine goals in a very short space of time so we will work on keeping these guys with us.”

Kashket’s superb treble was his first at senior level and he was over the moon to do it in this competition.

He commented: “To do it the FA Cup is a bit more special, it’s knockout and it is a bit bigger than the league so if your muck up that’s it, you are out.”

The in-form frontman also praised his team and strike partner Akinfenwa for giving him the opportunity to be hero at the Proact Stadium.

“I just want to thank the team for playing so well and helping create the chances for me,” explained Kashket.

“I love playing with Bayo, he takes other defenders away and you know he is going to flick it on and give me more space and it is brilliant to play there with him.”

Skipper Hayes has been a Chairboys hero for many years and he spoke with real pride about how the fans were so vociferous in their support of the team yesterday.

He said: “The fans were brilliant. They were singing throughout and we thought how could we not put on a performance for them. It spurs us on and gives us extra energy to push.

“They have travelled up and spent their money and we all appreciate their efforts week in, week out.”

Next up for Wanderers is a trip to Millwall on Wednesday in the Checkatrade Cup and a chance for the Chairboys to beat League One opposition again (kick off 7.45pm).