Archived News from November 2011
|
COX, MEIKLE, VERMA AND ADIE BRITTON REACTION
|
 |
|
Mansfield 103.2 post-match interview with Paul Cox. Listen here.
BBC Radio Nottingham post-match interview with Paul Cox. Listen here. "We had two one-on-one chances. Goals change games and we've been saying this for a number of games this season. "If you look at the games this season where we drew, we had chances to win the games. "We have become a little bit erratic in the last 10 or 15 minutes of games." Lindon Meikle told Radio Nottm's Ian Williams: "No I didn't mean it, I was just trying to put a cross in. But I'll take it, a goal's a goal. I was looking for Greenie and it just took a little bobble, and as soon as I hit it I thought it was going over, and I thought Greenie's going to kill me, and then I saw it go over the keeper and drop in. I didn't think to celebrate, I just walked off. I was a bit shocked. We'd just conceded so there was no point in celebrating. We're disappointed with the result. But a positive is that we haven't lost." Meikle and Verma post match interviews - I will clip from Radio Nottm when I get a moment (not before Sunday night). The Verma interview was not played out. Meikle interview above. --------------------- Adie Britton told the Non-League paper: "This was always going to be a tough game because we put so much into midweek [FA Cup replay on Wed night that went to extra time]. Yet in the closing stages we had shots cleared off the line, we had a disallowed goal, we had crosses a plenty. I thought we were bound to score but it was not to be. In the last 4 or 5 weeks we have begun to look a decent side. I beleive we are going to fight back." --------------------------- Stags players feeling the pressure, admits boss Cox chad.co.uk Although they missed four good chances, Stags know, in the end they were lucky to leave Twerton Park with a point in a frenzied finish. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town-fc/stags_players_feeling_the_pressure_admits_boss_cox_1_4008647 Cox said: “There was an intense pressure on us to win the game today and it showed in that last 15 minutes as we went gung-ho to win it, leaving big gaps at the back. It just sums us up at the moment. “We need to start from zero again and structure things down. I want players to go out there and play with a smile on their faces, whatever is going off around them. “Pressure comes from within and there is expectation at this football club. The players feel they are under-achieving. “So they are starting to make erratic decisions with feeling that pressure. “Players are not stupid and we are going into every game feeling if we don't win then it's the end of the world. Even when they have won sometimes players don't seem to have enjoyed winning. “We need to change their mindset and quickly. Were we ever going to win the league this season? No. We have to be realistic about this group of players and what we want to achieve. “I think it's probably the younger players that are feeling it a bit and it is grow-up time. They need to play with a smile and start winning football matches.” Cox added: “Goals change games and we missed two one-on-ones today at important times. “The first half was fairly even though we were sloppy for their goal. “We have scored and then had a great chance to go 2-1 up which we've missed. “Second half we have another one-on-one with their keeper. If Matt Green scores that, the game is won. But I thought we were really poor for the last 15 minutes.” ----------------------------------------- Stags boss looks for players to shake off the pressure Nottingham Post PAUL Cox insists Mansfield Town must play with 'smiles on their faces' to shake off a perceived pressure he believes is affecting performances. http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/story-13977678-detail/story.html The Stags boss was left frustrated by elements of his side's performance in their 1-1 draw at bottom club Bath City on Saturday. Lindon Meikle equalised Marley Watkins' opener, but Mansfield were unable to go on and impose themselves. Cox feels Mansfield have started to suffer because of their anxieties to end a poor recent run. "What worries me most is that for one reason or another the standards have dropped," he said. "The players are feeling that if they don't win it is the end of the world. I don't know if the pressure and expectation is making us a bit erratic in our mindset. "But it is strength of mind when you are going through a bad patch that determines where you will finish. "You can't carry on saying they have only lost four league games and everything will be all right next week. "The players have to be mentally stronger, forget everything that is going on around them and enjoy matches – and it needs to happen quickly. "There was a 'must-win at Bath' pressure, but the players need to be able to handle that." ------------------- Mansfield skipper signs contract extension Nottingham Post, Monday, November 28, 2011 SKIPPER Adam Murray has signed a one-year extension to his existing Mansfield Town contract, manager Paul Cox has confirmed. http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/story-13977683-detail/story.html The former Oxford United midfielder's deal was due to run out at the end of the season after joining the Stags halfway through 2011-12. But after talks with his manager, Murray has agreed to stay at Field Mill until the summer of 2013. Murray, who was suspended for Saturday's 1-1 draw at Bath City after picking up five bookings, had previously been an ever-present this campaign. "We have been talking to Adam and now we have got him signed up for the rest of this season and next," said Cox. "Hopefully we will get Matt Green tied up pretty soon too. This is a building process, people have to be realistic about it. Rome wasn't built in a day." ------------------- Lindon Meikle told Radio Nottm's Ian Williams: "No I didn't mean it, I was just trying to put a cross in. But I'll take it, a goal's a goal. I was looking for Greenie and it just took a little bobble, and as soon as I hit it I thought it was going over, and I thought Greenie's going to kill me, and then I saw it go over the keeper and drop in. I didn't think to celebrate, I just walked off. I was a bit shocked. We'd just conceded so there was no point in celebrating. We're disappointed with the result. But a positive is that we haven't lost." ------------------------------------------- Verma delighted with Stags move Nottingham Post AMAN Verma believes he can get his career back on track at Mansfield Town – and put his recent nightmare at Kettering behind him. http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/story-13987050-detail/story.html The central midfielder was part of a Poppies squad that was not paid their wages in full last month. ?The crisis erupted after chairman Imraan Ladak refused to continue to pump money in because of on-field performances he branded 'unacceptable.' Verma, along with Marcus Kelly, took the opportunity to move on last week by joining the Stags for an undisclosed fee. Moses Ashikodi, Adam Cunnington and Jean-Paul Marna have also left Kettering. The former Leicester City trainee admits it has been a difficult time, but feels brighter times are on the horizon at Field Mill after agreeing a deal until the summer of 2013. "There was all sorts going on at Kettering. It wasn't just players who weren't getting paid, but staff as well," said Verma. "We just tried to concentrate on our football even when the chips were down. The players had to motivate themselves. "I didn't know too much about what the chairman said but I think a few of the boys read about it. "From the start of the season I was hoping to be at a club where I could play my own game and express myself and have a chance of going places. "I think I will definitely have that opportunity at Mansfield and it's great to have the security of a long-term deal." ------------------- |
Latest | November 2011