{ the news }
 
An independent supporters' website dedicated to Mansfield Town FC
Archived News from October 2007

PREVIEWS AND TRANSFER NEWS
12th October 2007 22:29


Bullock has 'pop' at Stags
CHAD.co.uk, 12 Oct 2007, By Tim Morriss
FORMER Stags loan midfielder Lee Bullock has criticised his former teammates at Field Mill.
Bullock, who played in five matches for Mansfield Town last month as they hit the bottom of the Football League, has now moved onto a loan spell at Bury.

The Hartlepool midfielder said: "It's a good changing room (Bury) with a good bunch of lads.

"You can feel they want to do well for each other. It's professional here from the manager down. I was on loan at Mansfield before I came to Bury and that was a lot different.

"There wasn't the same buzz about the place, though at least it gave me a chance to get fit."
---------------
Meanwhile Bullock told the Evening Post: "No disrespect to Mansfield, but the feeling in the dressing room here is very different. Here the lads have a go at each other, shout, swear and make sure you are doing your job on the pitch. At Mansfield, if it wasn't going well, things were allowed to happen. It is more professional at Bury. Every week at Mansfield was a different team and we seemed to get beat by the one goal. It was a hard place to be around."
For full story, visit here --> http://www.thisismansfieldtown.co.uk
-------------


Dearden hopes for cash booster
CHAD.co.uk, 11 Oct 2007, By John Lomas
STAGS manager Billy Dearden is hoping James Derry's consortium may provide him with some added spending power once the club takeover is complete.
"I do not know anything yet as the deal has yet to be completed," he said.

"But if there is any money to spend I will certainly spend it.

"You have to be careful. We can't spend money here like other clubs do and I won't put players on ridiculous money in this League.

"Wages are the big consideration. But if we have to spend a fee on a player who I think will be a good asset to us in the long term then I will.
"But until anything happens, in the short term we all have to get behind each other – supporters, players and myself."

Mansfield headed for Barnet today for an over-night stop, looking to start to claw their way off the bottom of the table.

But Dearden said: "I have kept team up in the past and I have seen ups and downs here at Mansfield.

"I came here last December to keep the club up and, having loved it, was persuaded you might say in the summer to stay another 12 months or whatever.

"That's gone against us just now but we know we have to battle on and get going.

"It is a difficult time and no one hates being at the foot of the table more then me.

"I know this League and I know the players I want to bring in.

"The spirit in the club is a lot better than anybody thinks.

"If those players stopped believing in themselves then you have got problems. I have to keep them on a high and believing.

"Once you start feeling sorry for yourself you will come unstuck in football."



Double blow for Dearden in player search
CHAD.co.uk, 11 Oct 2007, By John Lomas
MANSFIELD Town boss Billy Dearden has so far been frustrated in his attempts to bring in two new faces for Saturday's trip to Barnet (1pm).
He has been knocked back by both clubs of his top two targets due to their own injury problems and, with the squad heading down to London tomorrow, time is running out to bolster his injury and illness-hit squad.

"I was confident I would get one in and expected two," he said. "But I have now been knocked back by both which is very disappointing.

"I went to look at one player in the Stoke v Leicester reserve game last night but, due to an injury to another player during the game, they said they couldn't let the lad we wanted out just now.

"And we agreed with a Championship club to bring in another lad but they have now decided they can't let him out because they have two or three other injuries.

"I know they are off this weekend but they can't see the injuries clearing up in time for the following week and say he will be in their squad the following weekend.

"One club called me at 4pm yesterday to tell me it wasn't happening and then another rang me at 9.30pm last night."

He added: "At it stand right now I have no one coming in.

"But it is Thursday and something might still happen.

"It is no secret I have been looking for a defender and a midfield player.

"It is always more difficult getting players into a club when you are struggling but that is up to me.

"Look at Lee Bullock. His loan ended here and he said he wanted to go back to Hartlepool and fight for his place and then signed for Bury.
"He never actually said he was leaving because we were bottom but that's the feeling you get.

"We have to believe we are a lot better than we are right now and start climbing that league."


McAllister to miss out on Barnet trip?
CHAD.co.uk, 11 Oct 2007, By John Lomas
Mansfield's threadbare squad could be dealt a new blow for this weekend's trip to Barnet (1pm) with the news that on loan Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Sean McAllister has been laid low with a virus.
And, if there is any doubt about his fitness or worries he may infect other players, he will not travel to London tomorrow.

McAllister has just begun a second month on loan and had started really finding his feet at this level.

"Sean did not train yesterday and he is seeing the doctor at Sheffield Wednesday today," said manager Billy Dearden.

"We expect Jake Buxton will be fit this week but, as seems to be the case here just now, you get one back and you lose another.

"You just have to put up with it and get on with it. As least we have Danny Sleath back in full training now.

"But Sean had been playing very well and showing what a capable footballer he is, so it will be a big blow if he is out."

Buxton, Sleath and keeper Carl Muggleton, taken ill at Rotherham last week, are al expected to be fit to be part of the squad.

Barnet are looking for a fifth straight League win while Stags have lost their last seven games.

However, Dearden said: "Hats off to Barnet, they have done well and that was an excellent 4-2 win at Stockport last weekend.

"But I am more bothered about us. If we can play like we did against MK Dons and in the last 25 minutes against Rotherham we will get a result."


thisismansfieldtown.co.uk reports that Jake Buxton is poised to return to the starting line-up for Saturday's trip to Barnet. “Bucko should be fit,” said boss Billy Dearden. “He will train with us and unless he has any ill-effects he should be all right.”
But midfielder Sean McAllister could miss the trip to London after going down with a virus.
Dearden said: “That's the way of things at the minute. We get one back and then lose another one.”
“Sean has missed training yesterday and today and he went to see the doctor at Sheffield Wednesday this morning.
“I don't want him to travel down to Barnet if he is going to pass it on to any of the other players, so we will just have to liaise with the doctor to see how he is.”
Full story at thisismansfieldtown.co.uk


Stags on the lookout for two new faces
CHAD.co.uk, 10 Oct 2007
Mansfield Town are hoping to have two new faces in the line-up when they travel to in-form Barnet on Saturday (1pm).
"Both Billy Dearden and I will be on the phone all week and we identified games to go and watch Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday," said Stags' assistant manager Paul Holland.

"We were on the phone all day Friday too. Then Jake had to drop out at the last minute. We thought he had a chance and we know if he could play he would.

"I would like to think we can get a couple in before the weekend.

"We need to strengthen the squad but we won't bring people in for the sake of it.

"We are watching the games with an open mind of what we need, though we know we are short at the back.

"But if we see someone of any position who we think would improve us and they are available, we will bring them in."

Holland said the club takeover was as much a surprise to him as it was to the fans on Friday.

"I didn't find out about the takeover until Friday evening when I heard it on the radio," he said.

"So sometimes we are as much in the dark as the fans. I am sure meetings will be arranged soon to let us know what is happening."

Despite a fightback from 3-0 down, Stags lost 3-2 at Rotherham on Saturday - their seventh straight defeat.

"Rotherham's first goal was hard to take as it was written on the dressing room wall what they do on corners and where certain players stand," said Holland.

"All we can do is keep drilling it in and work longer and harder on the training ground until it sinks in.

"No one likes working on defensive set plays on the training ground but we will have to do them more and more.

"We showed a little bit of fight but it's sometimes easier to express yourself when you are 3-0 down. We have to start matches better.

"It doesn't make me feel any better that we got back in it as we still lost it.

"In the first 20 minutes we looked to have an amateurish way of going about things."

One ray of light for Mansfield was the return to training of midfield ace Jon D'Laryea this week

"Jon D'Laryea is a few weeks off still. He is back in training this week but taking it steady," said Holland.

"With our injury problems it's hard to arrange a reserve game so we may have to play him in a youth game.

"It's nice to see him back and it shows what type of player he is that we have missed him so much.

Saturday's opponents Barnet are the perfect example of how to turn a season around.

The Londoners drew one and lost three of their first four games.
Since then they have gone seven unbeaten, winning five of them. And a win over the Stags would give them a fifth successive victory.

Mansfield have won once and drawn six times in their 10 visits to Underhill.

"We know it will be tough at Barnet. But every game is important when you are down there and we have to fight, scrap and work hard like we did against Milton Keynes and not just the last 20 minutes like at Rotherham," said Holland."

"Barnet are on a great run and Paul Fairclough got manager of the month last month.

"They had a great result at Stockport on Saturday, but we know anybody can beat anybody in the division.

"Milton Keynes are top, yet they say we gave them their hardest game this season.

"And apparently we have had more shots on target than any other side in the division so we must be doing something right.

"Adam has gone back down there as it didn't work out for him at Mansfield. He was a bit homesick.

"But he has done very well since and is a quality player. He has worked very hard and will be looking to impress against us. We know what to expect.

"It would be really nice not to concede there in the first three minutes!"

-------------
Evening Post website reports that Dearden has been knocked back in his bid to bring a Championship defender to Mansfield on loan.
Dearden thought he had got his man after agreeing a deal with the club concerned.
But they have now come back to him saying they cannot afford to let the player go.
“Two days ago the lad was all set to come and I was confident it would happen,” said Dearden.
“But they have decided they have too many injury problems of their own and cannot afford to let the player go out at this moment in time.
“It is disappointing, but I'm at another game tonight and I'm still hopeful something will happen before the weekend.”
Full story here --> http://www.thisismansfieldtown.co.uk/news/Stags-knocked-back-over-Championship-defender.aspx

 

Latest | October 2007