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An independent supporters' website dedicated to Mansfield Town FC
Archived News from October 2014

NEW SIGNING TARGET, AND INJURY NEWS
7th October 2014 10:45


Cox: New signing could be made soon
mansfieldtown.net, 2nd October 2014

Boss indicates that a new face could be added to the squad in the next few days.

Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/cox-new-signing-could-be-made-soon-1985092.aspx#F50Fs0TDSrHWX3D1.99

Manager Paul Cox is hopeful that a loan signing could be made to bolster our squad in the next couple of days.

Our boss, who was speaking at today’s press conference, wouldn’t be drawn on the name of the player, but it is expected that he will be able to operate in more than one position.

He said: “I’ve kind of agreed everything and all it needs now is just a yes or no from the club. It’s not rocket science to work out where we need to bring people in.

“The quality of player and the players we’ve got here are undoubted. Now we just need a go ahead from the top to say yes it can happen or no it can’t.”

Meanwhile, there is some positive news on the injury front as playmaker Fergus Bell, who fell awkwardly on his shoulder in last night’s 5-1 reserve team defeat to Derby County, didn’t suffer any lasting damage.

“The lad was brought off as a precaution and he’s in our thoughts for Saturday’s game,” confirmed Cox. “He got through 90 minutes, worked hard and I thought he looked an absolute threat in his position.

“He took a little knock [on his shoulder], but we’re not going to win any wars with him competing in a 90-minute game, so we just wrapped him up in cotton wool in order to get him through for Saturday.”

Reflecting more on the match itself, Cox said: “It was a very strong Derby County side. They had a player on loan from Atletico Madrid playing against us, whereas we had four or five of the kids in there.

“You look at the score-line, but you have to look at the bigger picture, which is you can’t get experience unless you have experience.

“That would have been a bad experience for the kids, but a good experience in so many ways. You never learn anything when you’re winning consistently, but sometimes when you come up against better players, bigger clubs, you learn, and the kids would have learned so much from it, even though the score-line was a poor one.”

He added: “It also got one or two players who are coming back from injury a full 90 minutes, which is good as we need all the numbers we can get for the first team squad at the minute.”

Paul Cox’s full interview is available to watch on Stags Player now. To subscribe/login, click here.

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Stags hope on Championship player deal
chad.co.uk, 02 October 2014

Mansfield Town hope to bring in a Championship player before the end of the day to boost their injury-hit squad.

http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/stags-hope-on-championship-player-deal-1-6873930

Manager Paul Cox said this morning that the deal was all sorted out from his and the player’s perspective and he was now just waiting for the go-ahead from the chairman to complete it.

“I have agreed everything and now just need a yes or no from the club,” said Cox. “That’s all I’ve been waiting on the last two or three days.

“It’s not rocket science about where we need to bring people in.

“The quality of the player is undoubted and I just need a go-ahead from the top to say if it can happen or it can’t. If it can, then brilliant, if not I will just get on with it.”

Cox is likely to bring in a left-sided player, especially with Rob Taylor still not fully fit.

“We have not got to the bottom of Rob’s illness,” he said. “He got through 90 minutes of the reserve game yesterday but sometimes it leaves him fatigued after games or if he over-exerts himself.”

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Depleted Stags hoping on injured pair
chad.co.uk, 02 October 2014

Mansfield Town are hoping shoulder injury victims Fergus Bell and Ryan Tafazolli will both be fit to face visitors Accrington Stanley on Saturday.

http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/depleted-stags-hoping-on-injured-pair-1-6873953

Bell missed last weekend’s defeat at Stevenage with his injury while Tafazolli gritted his teeth and got through the game after suffering the injury early on.

There was further concern when Bell had to come off after another bang on the same shoulder in last night’s 5-1 reserves defeat at Derby County.

But manager Paul Cox today was optimistic, saying: “We took him off as a precaution as he is in our thoughts for Saturday.

“He worked extremely hard last night and looked a threat. Then he took a knock on the shoulder and we took him off. But he was in training today with no ill effects.

“Ryan should also be fine for Saturday. He is a big, strong boy. It was a nasty fall on his shoulder last week but we will strap him up. He is another who will run through a brick wall for this football club and these boys need as much support from every facet of this club as possible as well as a pat on the back.

“We only have about 17 or 18 fit players and some of those going out there are playing on with knocks.”

Stags sent a young side to face Derby, where new boy Reggie Lambe notched the only Mansfield goal, and Cox said: “It was a very strong Derby side, including a player on loan from Atletico Madrid.

“But I have to look at the bigger picture and you can’t get experience unless you’ve had experience.

“That was a bit of experience for the kids. But you learn nothing from winning consistently. You need to come up against bigger clubs and better players and they will have learned so much from it, even though the scoreline was a poor one.”

Bizarrely, Stags go into Saturday’s clash with in-form Accrington as the only side in the top five divisions yet to draw a game.

Cox’s men know they have to produce a response to last Saturday’s tame 3-0 loss at Stevenage as well as gain some revenge on Stanley for last season when they won 3-2 at Mansfield with two stoppage time stunners and then gained a draw at home with a stoppage time penalty.

“They were strange games, but have to learn from them,” said Cox. “We have new players now and we need to learn how to manage games better.

“If we win we could be up in the play-offs just outside the top three and, with the resources we have and the injuries we’ve got, that would be unbelievable.

“You will always have days like Stevenage. We want to succeed and win every game. But the law of averages say you will get fatigue and injuries.

“For the standards we have set ourselves, we were a million miles off it last Saturday. So we want to get back on the horse and start another run as quickly as possible.

“With the resources we have, we need an incredible amount of luck with injuries and suspensions between now and Christmas. If we can get injured players back and young players to understand League Two we are a match for anybody. But if we get injuries and suspensions it will kill us.

“I don’t want to fluff it up. That’s where we are. We are in the hands of the gods until Christmas.”

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Mansfield Town v Accrington Stanley: Match preview
Nottingham Post,October 03, 2014, by Sarah Clapson

MANSFIELD Town boss Paul Cox admits he fears the repercussions if his small squad is hit by further absentees.

Read more at http://www.nottinghampost.com/Mansfield-Town-v-Accrington-Stanley-Match-preview/story-23037970-detail/story.html?#2dcCSKLCRsGCYhCQ.99

Already on the injury list are Luke Jones, Liam Hearn, Chris Clements and John Dempster, with Rob Taylor's illness problems still a 'grey area'.

Ryan Tafazolli and Fergus Bell will be strapped up for the visit of Accrington Stanley tomorrow as both struggle with shoulder injuries.

And Cox says any more players left on the treatment table could prove costly.

"I've said before, it's going to be this club's toughest season for a number of years," said the manager.

"If people get their heads around that, brilliant. If they can't, then we can't do anything about that.

"We are what we are. The resources we have etc will all come in to play. The one per cents will always add up throughout the season.

"We need an incredible amount of luck with suspensions and injuries in this next phase between now and Christmas time.

"If we do, and we get the young players and those who have come in understanding League Two, then I think we're a match for anybody.

"If we do get injuries and suspensions then it's going to kill us.

"I can't smooth it out anymore. I don't want to fluff it up. That's where we are."

A small section of the crowd turned on Cox and some of his players in their last outing at the One Call Stadium, as they clung on for a 3-2 win over Carlisle United.

And on the back of last weekend's disappointing performance in the 3-0 defeat at Stevenage, Stags are determined to give supporters a result to cheer tomorrow.

"We always want to perform well, especially in front of our own fans," said Cox.

"I think the lads feel comfortable at home - that shows in our results.

"We want to please everybody. We want to put on a lovely performance, we want to play attacking football and create loads of chance.

"I think that's important, I really do; but this is a results business.

"I would take the result over a performance every time - that's just me being totally frank and honest.

"Nine out of ten people will go home happy if they've seen their team win, especially if that win puts us in to a healthy position inside the play-offs or the top three.

"For a club with our resources this year, if we were to do that, it would be unbelievable."

Mansfield's game at Luton Town on November 29 is in doubt as Bedfordshire Police are concerned about the potential for an English Defence League march on the same day, which would also require their resources.

A decision will be made by the end of the month.

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Riley ready for Stanley showdown
mansfieldtown.net

Defender determined to get one over on perennial bogey side.

Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/riley-ready-for-stanley-showdown-1987399.aspx#Ttpuor6Pzat7Eje5.99

Defender Martin Riley admits that a sense of revenge is in the offing when our team go head-to-head with Accrington Stanley at One Call Stadium tomorrow.

Under previous boss James Beattie, tomorrow’s opponents took a total of four points off us, home and away, in the dying seconds of our two meetings with them last term.

In December’s meeting in North Nottinghamshire, our team were left shell-shocked as Kal Naismith and James Gray struck deep into injury-time to complete a remarkable 3-2 comeback win for Accrington.

Stanley left it even later to snatch a point in the reverse fixture in April - and effectively end our play-off chances, as Naismith converted a spot-kick in the fifth minute of added time after Riley tangled with Gray.

Riley now believes it is important to get one over on our perennial bogey team.

“They took four points off us when we should have been taking all of them and scored three [injury-time] goals and we haven’t forgot that,” said Riley.

“The most important thing is that we beat them this time.”

He continued: “Every time we’ve lost a game this season, we’ve bounced back, which is a good thing, but at the moment we just need to start putting a little run together, which is something we’re not quite doing at the minute.”

Paul Cox’s team are the only one in the Football League yet to draw a match this season and Riley admits that although it’s surprising - given that we drew on 15 occasions last term - it could be a good thing.

He said: “It is quite unusual, especially for ourselves as we had quite a few draws last year. It is surprising, but I suppose for the points tally it’s a lot better.

“It’s never nice to lose games, but it’s better to win one, lose one, than to draw a couple.”

Reflecting on our first 10 league matches, the 27-year-old old added: “It’s been a solid start to the season, but if we can turn these defeats into draws, it’s going to be even better for us.

“We just need to look to put a run together at the moment, though the main aim is to obviously bounce back at home. We’re playing well at home, but looking further down the line, we need to start putting a run together.”

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Palmer: We want three points against Stanley
mansfieldtown.net

Frontman ready for Saturday's visit of bogey team.

Striker Ollie Palmer wants our team to try and embark on a good run of form and climb towards the Sky Bet League Two play-off positions, starting tomorrow when Accrington Stanley visit One Call Stadium.

Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/palmer-we-want-three-points-against-stanley-1987698.aspx#oMGFUfHFp5JhGQ7E.99

Our team go into the match against John Coleman’s men, who have both matches since the 51-year-old replaced James Beattie at the helm last month, having won four home matches out of five this term.

However, we suffered a disappointing 3-0 loss at mid-table Stevenage, which saw us drop to 11th position in the table with 15 points from our first 10 matches.

“Being more consistent is something that we need to work on as a group of players and as a team,” said Palmer. “We need to try and go on more consistent runs and take all of our home games by the scruff of the neck.

“Our home form has been good this season. We’ve picked up quite a few wins at home, so it’s our away form that we need to work on and get back to our away form from last season, which was quite good.”

Last season, we took just one point against tomorrow’s opponents, despite leading in both games going in to stoppage-time, and Palmer admits to wanting to get revenge.

“I don’t think the performances were the best last season, so that’s something to work on,” continued Palmer.

“You take note of the games that you’ve lost and you want to get revenge the following season and it’s time on Saturday to try and put [last season’s results against Accrington] right.”

He added: “We know that we didn’t put in a good performance last Saturday [at Stevenage]. It wasn’t acceptable to be quite frank and we’ve got to put that right on Saturday and try to get three points.”

Reflecting on his own season so far - in which Palmer has mainly been used as a substitute, he said: “You’ve got to bide your time and wait for our opportunity.

“The boys have been well and overall it’s not the worst position we could be in right now. We know we’ve got some things to work on, so I’m just waiting for my time really.”

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Palmer desperate for a Stags start
chad.co.uk

Stags striker Ollie Palmer is still champing at the bit to get a run in the side.

http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/palmer-desperate-for-a-stags-start-1-6874005

Palmer has made only two starts this season, is still searching for his first goal and drew a blank in a 45-minute second half run-out in last weekend’s 3-0 defeat at Stevenage.

Ahead of tomorrow’s visit of Accrington Stanley, he said: “You have to bide your time and wait for your opportunity.

“The boys have been coping well overall and we are not in the worst position we could be right now.

“I know I have more things to improve on, but I am happy with the way I am training right now and I am just waiting for my time really. I am feeling fit and sharp.

“But you have to take your opportunities as it can be a cruel game.

“With Stevenage 2-0 up last Saturday they just sat deep and made it hard for us to get behind them and affect it.

“Once you get in you do feel you need to do something extra. You have to remain focused and stick to your guns. For a striker, confidence comes with goals and playing games.”

Stags blew what looked likely to be two victories over Stanley lasts season by conceding stoppage time goals, seeing a 2-1 home advantage turn into a 3-2 defeat and a 1-0 lead at Accrington end up 1-1 with a late home penalty.

“I don’t think those performances were the best and that’s something to work on and try to better on Saturday,” said Palmer.

“You take note of those games and you want to get revenge, and after last Saturday, we want to get this result right.”

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It’s tactics and plans for Coley 03/10/2014
Dany Robson
JOHN Coleman will be using tactics and plans to try and outmanoeuvre Mansfield on Saturday.

http://accringtonstanley.co.uk/2014/10/tactics-plans-coley/?

The Reds make the trip to the Stags looking for their fifth win in six games - and three successive wins under Coleman.

But so far the Stanley boss has seen contrasting shows - the nine-goal attacking thriller at Northampton and then the 1-0 backs-to-the-walls performance against Plymouth.

“We have a game-plan for Mansfield as we do with every team,” said Coleman. “We know they are a physical side whose style of football is direct but they are capable of playing a bit as well and they have scored some great goals this season.

“We know quite a few of their players but they will have looked at us and done their homework and they will play to counter what we do.

“We have to combat them - and that’s the thrill of management, it’s like being an army general. It’s the battle of wills where you have to try to outmanoeuvre the opposition using plans and tactics.

“We believe in preparing the players right, they know their roles within the team on Saturday and that’s what we have been going through with them this week - they have been left in no doubt as to what is expected of them.”

Coleman wasn’t overly happy despite Stanley’s 1-0 win over Plymouth last Saturday but, looking back, he says he might have been harsh on his players.

“I was critical of the forwards and, while we can play better, they weren’t as bad as I thought they were. You also have to give Plymouth some credit although they were wasteful in front of goal on the day.

“There is a way we want to play but, firstly, you have got to be delighted with a win - this league is very very close and there is only a couple of points between a large number of teams so each point is important and I have pressed that home to the players.

“The last three years of when I was here last time as manager we were knocking around the top half of the table - and that’s where I expect us to be this year.”

Striker James Gray sits out the last game of his three-match ban while defenders Michael Liddle and Adam Buxton are back in training but not yet match fit.

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Another Molyneux hat-trick 03/10/2014
Dan Jewell
LEE Molyneux says he is happy to be back ‘home’ after signing for Accrington Stanley for a third time.

http://accringtonstanley.co.uk/2014/10/another-molyneux-hat-trick/

Molyneux has returned to the Reds on loan until January and, with less than a year to run on his Crewe contract, wants to make a big impression.

‘Molly’, 24, has made 60 appearances for Stanley in his three spells under managers Paul Cook, Leam Richardson and James Beattie and scored 15 goals - many influential in keeping the Reds in League Two.

“It seems like I have never been away,” smiled Molyneux, who was on loan with Stanley at the back end of last season.

“I have never really spent a long time away from the club. I know there is a new manager now but it just has the same feel around the place. It’s so familiar and I am buzzing.”

Molyneux admits it hasn’t gone as he had hoped since he moved to League One side Crewe Alexandra in 2013.

“It was the right move at the time but, with hindsight, it hasn’t worked out but that’s football and you learn.

“I was at Accrington for six months last season and then I went back to Crewe thinking I would be moved on. A few clubs came in for me but manager Steve Davis said I was in his plans.

“I played at the start of the season but haven’t for the last few weeks. I went to the manager as my contract ends in June next year and I need to be playing and not sat in the stands.

“When John (Coleman) and Jimmy (Bell) came in for me it was a no-brainer. I still want to play as high as I can and I want to get a run of games and press on.

“I know John and Jimmy are looking towards the top half of the table and the play-offs and I want to be part of that. It’s just great to be back.”

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Latest | October 2014