Archived News from September 2005
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PALMER STAYING PUT
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Audio interview with Carlton Palmer from Radio Nottingham, on Monday Interview here -------- Defiant Palmer is staying put CHAD website, 05 September 2005 STAGS boss Carlton Palmer is staying put and has urged the club to use Friday night's defeat at Keith Curle's Chester City as the 'turning point' of their season. Palmer was so upset by Stags' 3-1 surrender at a Chester side managed by Curle, who was sacked by Stags last season, plus other factors, that he spent the weekend 'considering his future'. But he has defied a section of Mansfield fans calling for his head by vowing to battle on and preparing for Saturday's visit of Darlington when rumours suggest some fans will organise some sort of anti-Palmer protest. "I am back in the office getting on with the job," he said. "I am here for the true Mansfield Town supporters - not the ones trying to hound me out - and I will get my head down with the players and the chairman, who has supported me, and get us to the Play-offs or better this season as I have always said I would. "On Friday night I felt the lowest I had done for a very long time. "I did contemplate walking away. But I know what we are trying to do here is right and it doesn't just happen overnight. I spoke to my family and people I respect and they told me to stick with it. I had a good weekend, I got engaged, and came back in Monday ready to get on with the job. "Also Keith Haslam is a friend of mine and I would not want to have done anything to harm the football club and just walk out. "I was very disappointed with a few things on Friday, culminating in the players showing liuttle fight in the second half. "It hardly helped when some of our fans were calling out to Keith Curle before the game. "I had nothing to do with his sacking and I am working very hard to try to get a better team together here. "But I was told a lot of what happened during the day on Friday and then at the game was a set-up. "I know not all the fans are against me. They have been brilliant this season. "And I look at the games and how we have played and fans who have been to those games know we've deserved more than we've got. "We are not a bad side, but being young we are just a little short of someone at times to take control of things like against Notts when, seven minutes from time, someone should have told the rest of them that the game was dead and just do your job. "I know some supporters have complained about certain things like the number of changes I've made. "I would love to name the same side week after week but when there are a lot of games, players do get tired and need a rest. "Don't forget I made five changes for the Stoke game but I didn't get a single complaints after that result or performance." Palmer, who may include himself in the side to face Darlington if he comes through a reserve friendly against Rushden and Diamonds tomorrow, is relishing Saturday's game. "We know we need to do better. We have scored 10 goals in seven games and thoroughly deserved to knock Stoke City out the Cup," he said. "But we have let in 13 goals, mostly from set pieces and we are working very hard to sort that out. "I was unhappy with our second half perormances at Peterborough and Chester. But, otherwise, there is not that much wrong. "I have had letters saying I have brought in the best squad here in 10 years. "I know it's not just me having problems with a section of fans. Sheffield United are top of the table so Neil Warnock told me he couldn't believe he was getting so much stick from people saying they are not playing very well. "Hopefully the supporters will come here on Saturday and get behind us. "This will turn around - and very quickly. "My players may be young. but they need to start being men now. "I will not start lumping the ball forward, though. I want to play the right way. "Darlington will certainly come and try to play football on Saturday which always suits us when teams do that." Apart from broken leg victim Chris Beardsley, Jake Buxton is the only injury doubt with a dead leg which he took at Chester in the first half but played on until 22 minutes from the end. Palmer then also has to consider Adam Birchall and Stephen Dawson's situations - the pair only return from U21 international duty on Thursday. Palmer is now hard at work trying to bring in a couple of loan players - a striker and a midfield player. -------- mansfieldtown.net: Stags Boss Carlton Palmer left fans in some doubt of their manager's future following the Friday night clash at Former manager Keith Curle's Chester City. At the end of the game that ended in a disappointing 3-1 defeat Palmer was obviously upset and intimated that he would have to take the weekend to decide whether or not to stay at Field Mill. This afternoon however, he allayed fears that he could be leaving Filed Mill saying: "I was disappointed with a lot of things on Friday not just the game but there were other issues before, during and after the game culminating in the team showing no fight against Chester City. But winning only one game in seven and conceding 12 goals is disappointing to me. So I was very upset when I gave my post match interview. "Keith Haslam is a friend of mine and I have told him that I will not purposely do anything to harm him or his football club so I reported to work as normal this morning. We have spoken to the lads and we know that we have to sort one or two things out and bring one or two players in. I have been looking at bringing in a striker and a midfield player. "The Matthew Tipton situation has set me back a bit. I spent a lot of time in the summer bringing him in to the club when I could have been bringing in other players. But we thought Tipton was our man so we spent all pre-season playing the 4-3-3 shape and had to change the system to accommodate Matthew but he still never settled because of the travelling. Then with Beardo's injury we went from four strikers to one with Birchall being on International duty. But I don't want to sound as though I am making excuses, the fact is we have conceded too many sloppy goals from set pieces so this is something we will be working on this week. We are all in it together. The players want to do well and I want to do well" he told the official website this afternoon. In summary Palmer said "I did contemplate quitting but having spoken to people I respect I realise that a lot of what we are doing here (Mansfield Town) is right and that it won't just come over night so I will stay and finish what I started out to do. I believe we do have a very good side here and that we can still finish in the play-offs if not higher." |
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