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Archived News from March 2012

COX, MURRAY, MICKY MELLON REACTION
29th March 2012 12:22




Fleetwood boss Micky Mellon told Natalia Bradford of the NLP: "We knew they're a big strong side. They make you defend and they are well organised. Their players fight for their manager and the club, but we just feel that when games are tight like this, we have a little bit of magic required to win games and that will of the players worked well for us."


audio interviews with Paul Cox and Adam Murray from 103.2
http://soundcloud.com/mansfield-103-2-sport/sets/24-03-2012-fleetwood-town-2/


audio interview with Paul Cox from Radio Nottm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17412078

VIEWS FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Mansfield Town manager Paul Cox told BBC Radio Nottingham:

"I thought we started the game really well and in the first half an hour I thought we were excellent.

"What disappointed me with our performance was that we took our eye off what we were good at and we paid the price.

"You can't come to a place like this and to a team like this and miss the chances we have.

"But it might be the best thing to happen to us this season, to bring people back down to the ground and we can refocus."

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Stags boss Cox: We let ourselves down
Nottingham Post

PAUL Cox felt Mansfield Town let their standards slip at Fleetwood – even though acknowledging his side's eight-game unbeaten run had most likely been ended by the eventual champions.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/story-15625602-detail/story.html

The Stags were undone by two goals in the first half of the second period. And, while admitting that Fleetwood had the requisite quality that few others possess to punish the Stags for losing concentration, he was still disappointed with his side's shortcomings.

Stags boss Cox is demanding Mansfield bounce back when they take on Ebbsfleet at Field Mill in their next game.

And he also hopes his players can learn from Fleetwood, who he feels are the benchmark that any team at Blue Square Bet Premier level should be aiming to emulate.

"I feel gutted, just like any time we lose a game. I feel like we let ourselves down, but then we were playing a team who will possibly win the championship," said Cox.

"They are ahead of us in their planning, we are only ten months into our project by comparison. But they are where we want to be in the future if we don't get promoted through the play-offs this year.

"For the first half hour we were excellent and carried the game to Fleetwood, but when you play sides like them, you have to stick to your game plan and keep your structure for the whole 90 minutes.

"But we got a bit lax in both boxes at times and against quality sides, you will get punished.

"We had a number of chances in the first half and I think we needed to score in that period. When they created their chances, they put them away.

"It is not the end of the world. We will pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down to try to win the Ebbsfleet game.

"In a way this could be the best thing to happen to us in the long-term, because it will get our feet back on the ground."

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We weren't ruthless, says Mansfield Town boss after Fleetwood defeat
chad.co.uk

PAUL Cox said today's 2-0 win at Fleetwood Town could be a blessing in disguise as his Mansfield Town side's eight-game unbeaten run came to an abrupt halt at the leaders.

http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town-fc/we-weren-t-ruthless-says-mansfield-town-boss-after-fleetwood-defeat-1-4383472

Stags succumbed to two second half strikes and the Mansfield manager said: “That may be the best thing that's happened to us this season.

“It will bring people's feet back on the ground and focus us.

“I am gutted to lose a football match and it's a long way home from here when you've lost.

“For the first half hour we were excellent and carried the game to Fleetwood. But when you play good sides you have to stick to the game plan and keep your structure and the things you've worked on for the whole 90 minutes.

“We had a number of chances in that first half hour which you need to score. If we'd scored it might have been different. Then I thought we became a bit lackadaisical in both boxes.

“When you play top teams and get chances you have to be ruthless and we weren't ruthless enough. It disappointed me we lost our structure and discipline in what we are about. I think we took our eye off the ball a bit today. I think one or two minds went off the boil a bit and we paid the price.

“But Fleetwood and Wrexham are a cut above anything else in our league and something we have to emulate. Now we have to bounce back strongly on Saturday.

“It was the first game we'd lost in a while and I don't want to happen again until the end of the season.

“There was a lot of media hype regarding myself and the club this week, but I have stayed focussed and kept my feet on the ground.”

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Stags skipper Murray: We can't afford any distractions
Nottingham Post

ADAM Murray insists Mansfield Town should sort out a new deal for manager Paul Cox as soon as possible – so that there are no distractions during the final run-in.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/story-15625601-detail/story.html

The skipper was adamant after Mansfield's first defeat in nine games, a 2-0 defeat against Fleetwood on Saturday, that speculation about their boss attracting interest from Football League clubs has not been a concern to the players.

Those rumours have been fanned by the fact Cox's one-year contract is due to come to an end in May and he has yet to sign another.

But midfielder Murray is hopeful chairman John Radford can resolve the issue sooner rather than later so that the only focus in the last six games of the campaign is trying to clinch a Blue Square Bet Premier play-off place.

The Stags remain third in the table despite a seventh loss of the campaign at Highbury.

"As a footballer you focus on performing as an individual and on doing a job for the team," said Murray.

"Anything that goes on behind the scenes is irrelevant once you get out on the field

"Don't get me wrong, we all want the gaffer to stay more than anything, but there is going to be speculation if you do well, as he has done.

"It's like if you have a successful team, then other teams start to be interested in your players.

"But it would be nice if this whole thing could be put to bed quickly by the manager getting another deal, especially because we all hope there is going to be a big finish to our season going into the last few games.

"It would just stop all the rumours and talking around corners that goes on in these situations."

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Give Stags boss Paul Cox a new contract, captain Adam Murray urges Mansfield Town
chad.co.uk

STAGS skipper Adam Murray today urged the club to offer manager Paul Cox a long term contract.

http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town-fc/give-stags-boss-paul-cox-a-new-contract-captain-adam-murray-urges-mansfield-town-1-4383474

There had been speculation over Cox's future this week with Burton Albion reputed to be interested in his services and no sign of a new contract from Stags where his current deal ends in the summer, despite him steering the club to their best season in years.

“To lose the gaffer would be massive to the team and the fans - he has lifted a lot of clouds,” said Murray.

“The guy knows where he is going and we now need to give him the freedom of control here. His vision for the future is only to a certain point as he is out of contract at the end of the season.

“He needs to be given the reins and security of saying do what you're doing on a bigger scale, not just for next season. Why not say let's go and build for the four or five years?”

Murray was disappointed with the 2-0 defeat at Fleetwood today but said: “That might be the best thing that could have happened to us today.

“The last couple of months we've been floating so this is a wake-up call and tells us maybe we are not as good as we think we are.

“I don't want to take the shine off everything with the ground and recent results, but there is still a hell of a lot of work to do here.

“For the first 30 minutes we were right in the game. If we'd taken our chances then the game turns on its head. After that we went away a bit from what we are about.

“But you can dig and dig and come out of it feeling pretty bad. All we need to do is pick up on little things and learn from them.”

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