Niven signed for Football League Division Two side Chesterfield in December 2003, making his debut in English football on 13 December 2003 in a 2–2 draw at home to Tranmere Rovers. Niven became a regular in the Spirerites squad and scored his first senior goal in a 1–0 victory over Blackpool on 24 April 2004. Chesterfield managed to avoid relegation at the end of the 2003–04 season having climbed out of the drop zone on the last day of the season at the expense of Grimsby Town.