Archived News from August 2003
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EVENING POST PREVIEW
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CURLE: 'THE BOYS WON'T LET ME DOWN'
STEVIE RODEN, Evening Post, 08 August 2003 Stags boss Keith Curle is confident his team will not let him down in terms of their determination and passion to earn promotion. Curle said there was no room for shirkers in his team and if any of his players had not been up for the promotion fight, they would have been showed the door by now. His comments came as his side prepared for the trip to Kidderminster tomorrow in search of three points from the opening game of the season. But he said should they fail to come back with maximum points, it would not be the end of the season. "We have got a goal and that is to be in Division Two at the end of the season," said Curle. "There are no statistics that say that teams who don't win the first game do not win the league. There are 46 games. "But I'm confident the players are ready for the game and we can pick up all three points. "We have been performing well and looked good in pre-season. I am very happy and we are ready to go." Curle said Kidderminster had a mixture of youth and experience and were a similar side to Mansfield. He said: "They are like us, a solid side with a mixture of flair, energy, youth and experience. "My players have a willingness to learn and they want to better themselves. It will be a good match." Both Tony Vaughan and Adam Eaton are struggling with injuries and will not feature in tomorrow's game. But Curle said both were desperate to play despite carrying knocks. Curle added: "Both are carrying slight knocks but it is a long season so there is no point risking them in the first match. What's the point? But it just shows you the spirit of the team. Everyone is desperate to play their part." JUST THE TICKET Evening Post, 08 August 2003 Mansfield chairman Keith Haslam is pleased with the club's sales over the summer, which look like matching last season's figure of 1,800. Stags sold 900 the last time they were in Division Three two seasons ago. Haslam said: "I think they have gone very well and we are still hopeful that a few more people will renew. "Some haven't, but we are getting more people who are taking a season ticket for the first time. "And we don't have a home game until next week so hopefully we shall sell a few more before we play Leyton Orient." |
Latest | August 2003