Archived News from December 2014
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WIMBLEDON PREVIEWS / MURRAY ON TRANSFER WINDOW
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Boss will improve squad in January
mansfieldtown.net, 18th December 2014 New manager says he will look to bring in fresh faces when transfer window re-opens. Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/murray-looks-for-key-ingredients-2151475.aspx#aTZKmyhff6mU6QGG.99 Boss Adam Murray says he is looking for certain ingredients to be added to our squad and will delve into the transfer market in the New Year, once the transfer window opens. The Stags’ boss, who was speaking at this morning’s press conference, also said that our loan players will have the opportunity to prove their worth over the festive period and potentially earn the chance to extend their deals with us. “We’ve got two weeks now to nail down what we need and what we’ll be moving out the other way,” said Murray. “It’s going to be a big time for our season. I do think if we get the right ingredients and add it to what these boys are already doing, given the type of player that will come in then it’ll be a big help to us in January.” He continued: “We’ve got good numbers at the minute and it’s looking at the bodies that are going to suit how we’re going about things. “Over the last couple of weeks and for the foreseeable few weeks up until January, we will be looking at different things and looking at different people and possibly different formations. “To go forward I need to have a clear focus in my mind of what we need, what we can actually do and how it is going to fit into certain ways of playing. “So there is a lot to uncover over the next couple of weeks and there’s some missing ingredients at the moment, which we’ve got to try and find.” Looking ahead to January - and the opening of the transfer window - in more detail, our boss said: “There’s the scenario at the minute where we’ll be losing all our loans. Players are going out, so players will have to come in, otherwise we’ll be left with just 16 players. “That will work in its own way and it’s up to me and the lads in the dressing room to make my decision on who we need to keep out of the loan players.” He continued: “There will be movement. I know these lads inside out and they’ve given me everything, so I don’t think there needs to be a clean sweep, but it needs freshening up. “When you’ve been in a routine for so long, minds get stale, physicality gets stale and you have to freshen things up.” Our team make the long trip to South-West London to take on AFC Wimbledon on Saturday and our boss insists we will go to the Cherry Red Records Stadium to attack in order to try and get maximum points. “It’ll be another tough game,” said Murray. “We’re talking about being ruthless and scoring goals and you look at their strike-force and it’s one that’s been around and scored goals for a long time. “We’re going to have to be on our guard defensively, but we’re still going to go there and look to create chances and we’re going to play on the front foot. “I’m not one for sitting back and hoping we put a cross in and score. We’ve got to keep creating chances and the goals will come.” Giving his final reflections on Tuesday’s narrow home defeat to Cambridge United in the FA Cup, Murray added: “There’s still a lot of frustration “I’ve watched the game back a couple of times and I don’t know how we haven’t scored, but it’s something that I’ll have to take the positives from. “Like I said to the boys this morning, we’re putting a lot of forward movements in and positive steps and they’ve got to keep believing in what we’re doing, because we’re so close to clicking now. “You look at the last three games and in the two previous to Tuesday[‘s game], we were a few minutes away from winning. “On Tuesday, we should have won. It was a scrappy goal and not taking our opportunities [that cost us] but were close to starting to become a winning team and it’s important that we don’t lose sight of that.” Adam Murray’s full interview will be available on Stags Player later today. To subscribe, click here. ------------------ Adam Murray: Mansfield Town manager open to playing return http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30531483 Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray says he is still considering combining management duties with a playing role. The 33-year-old midfielder, who won two of his three games in caretaker charge of the Stags, is yet to oversee a victory since succeeding Paul Cox as full-time boss at Field Mill. Murray has not played since Cox's last match at the helm on 18 November. "From day one I have never ruled it out - I won't close the door on it," Murray told BBC Radio Nottingham. Murray, who became the youngest boss in English football's top five leagues, admitted he is still coming to terms with working from the dugout. "I'm finding parts of it frustrating, because it is a learning curve for me from the sidelines," he said. "It's hard to affect things when you can't physically pull people around and organise them into positions they should be in." As a player Murray has made more than 180 appearances for the club and had expressed a reluctance to go into management if it meant hanging up the boots. "It's about a balance of me being right mentally and not letting the team down if i was on the pitch. I will see how the next couple of weeks go. These boys have two weeks now to prove to me that they can take this football club forward," he said. "January is coming up and that going to be important for us." Murray also said that he is still considering trying to add ex-Mansfield manager Billy Dearden to his backroom staff as a chief scout. "We haven't got any recruitment or any head or chief scout at the minute. Billy is someone who has done that for a few years now and worked for some top clubs," he added. "I have had conversations with him and they will continue." ----------------- Adam Murray ready to bring in new players to Mansfield Town chad.co.uk, by Stephen Thirkill, 18 December 2014 Adam Murray says he will be dipping in to the January transfer market in a bid to take Mansfield Town forward. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/adam-murray-ready-to-bring-in-new-players-to-mansfield-town-1-7011509 Murray is yet to taste a win as Mansfield Town boss after three games in charge and knows he needs new blood to stop Stags’ slide down the table. And, with a number of loan players set to return to their parent clubs in early Janury, Murray knows he must act fast to keep his squad competitive. Murray is now likely to experiment in the upcoming games against AFC Wimbledon, Hartlepool and Bury as he finalises his plans for the second half of the season. Said Murray: “The players have bought in to me, they have bought in to what I am about and they are giving it 100 per cent, I cannot ask for any more than that. “But to go forward as a club we need new faces to freshen things up. It is nothing against any of the players we have at the moment, sometimes you just need fresh voices and characters to change things around. “There is a missing ingredient at the club that we need to find. The main focus at the moment in my mind is working out what we have and what we need. “We will use the next two weeks to work that out and test out players in different positions and different formations. “It is now up to the players to make up my mind as to who will stay and who will go. “We need to nail down what we need and this is a big two weeks for the club.” Mansfield Town have won just once in their last 10 league outings and currently sit five points above the drop zone. But, despite the ongoing poor form, Murray is refusing to be downbeat and believes his current side is not too far away from being a winning side once again. “At the moment it is all about getting points on the board,” added Murray. “We have to take the positives from the Cambridge defeat. “We are putting some positive steps in place and we are not far off clicking and being a winning team. “It is important we continue to believe in ourselves and we cannot lose sight of where we are. “These players were brought in to play in a certain style and formation and there is a transition of style in place that takes time.” Stags travel to AFC Wimbledon on Saturday as they look to return to winning ways. ------------------ Waterfall hoping for flow of games mansfieldtown.net, 18th December 2014 Defender determined to cement a starting place over the festive period. Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/waterfall-hoping-for-flow-of-games-2151196.aspx#wI34EBQrKbXAIFV3.99 Having featured in our last two games, centre-back Luke Waterfall is hoping to establish himself as a regular in our team before his loan with us expires early in the New Year. The 24-year-old, who joined us from Scunthorpe United six weeks ago, has partnered Ryan Tafazolli in the heart of our defence recently, and will be hoping to keep his shirt for Saturday’s trip to AFC Wimbledon. “I’ve had to wait for my chance, but fortunately for me ‘Riles’ (Martin Riley) got a niggly injury and I’ve got my chance that way,” said the centre-back. “I just hope I can stay in the team as long as possible. My loan is up on January 1st so I want to stay in the team for as long as I can, do as well as I can and we’ll take things from there. “When you’re a centre-half if the team are doing well it’s difficult to get a game as managers like to try and keep the back four a steady unit.” He continued: “The new gaffer (Adam Murray) is obviously trying to change the style over time and get us passing a little bit more, but I think I’m more than capable of doing that.” The defender thought he had scored a dramatic late equaliser in Tuesday’s FA Cup second round replay with Cambridge United, but his acrobatic effort was controversially ruled out for offside. “I’ve heard a few different stories,” said Waterfall. “I didn’t think I was offside at first, but I’ve heard people say that I was offside. Apparently the ‘keeper was in front of me and there was only one person playing me onside - I’m not too sure myself to be honest. “It’s a shame that it got ruled out, because I think if we’d have managed to get into extra-time, I’d have fancied us to go on and win the game.” He added: “We had a lot of chances to be fair. We weren’t good in the first half and the gaffer obviously told us that at half-time and gave us a bit of a kick up the backside. “We went out and I thought we did pretty well in the second half. We created a lot of chances and it’s a shame that we didn’t manage to nick a good result.” Looking ahead to Saturday’s game at the Cherry Red Records Stadium, Waterfall said: “Obviously it’d have been nice to get through to the next round in the FA Cup, but the league has got to be the priority - especially now as we’ve got to start picking up points quickly to get further up the league, which is where we want to be. “It’ll be a tough game on Saturday, but there are no easy games in this league.” Luke Waterfall's full interview will be available on Stags Player later today. To subscribe, click here. ---------------- Lee Beevers urges Mansfield Town to put Cambridge United defeat behind them chad.co.uk, by Stephen Thirkill Defender Lee Beevers has called on his Mansfield Town team-mates to put their FA Cup exit behind them and start to climb up League Two. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/lee-beevers-urges-mansfield-town-to-put-cambridge-united-defeat-behind-them-1-7012212 Stags were dumped out of the FA Cup by Cambridge United on Tuesday as their miserable run of form continues. But Beevers believes Stags can build on recent improved performances and pull away from the bottom end of the table. Said Beevers: “A good cup run would have been nice, but the league is our priority now. “It is frustrating that we did not put our chances away, it just seemed to be one of those days. “We have to put Cambridge behind us now. It is important that we go on an unbeaten run and get a few wins to move up the table. “We did not start this season too well, but hopefully we can pick up and move away from danger. “We have performed well in the second half of the season before and hopefully we can repeat that this year. “Our defending is not bad, we have just got to take our chances and hopefully the floodgates will open. “There is good competition for places at the back and that helps get the best out of us. We have also got players coming back so we are in a better position than two-three months ago.” Mansfield will be hoping to kick-start their season when they travel to London to face AFC Wimbledon on Saturday. The match finished 0-0 last season following a magnificent goalkeeping display by Ross Worner. Stags have won just one of their last 10 games and have not won away since they beat Exeter 2-1 on 6th September. ---------------------- |
Latest | December 2014