Archived News from August 2015
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CARLISLE PREVIEWS
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Murray set for first battle of the season
mansfieldtown.net, 6th August 2015 Mansfield Town manager Adam Murray says he is pleased with the state the football club is in with the new season just 48 hours away. Stags kick off their SkyBet League Two season this Saturday with a home fixture against Carlisle United and Murray is impressed with how pre-season has prepared his side for the upcoming campaign Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/murray-set-for-first-battle-of-the-season-2597777.aspx#eHKpA5Ew8rsWf2tv.99 Murray said: “I’ve been here a long time now and I think it’s the best atmosphere I’ve felt. "People are looking at it now with a realistic view and going ‘We’ve put a decent squad together, we’ve done okay in pre-season’ and people are understanding that this is a tough league and there’s some big teams in this league and there’s a real optimism balanced with realism this season and I like it.” He continued: “As an outfit, we’re strong, and by outfit I don’t [just] mean the football side of it, I mean the club. I look at the fans and how they've been in pre-season. I speak to a lot of people and read a lot of things and there’s a sensible view on things. "We’re going to have to be on our mettle and I do believe that we need to keep the focus of realism and optimism and belief in what we’re about. We want to set our DNA of what we’re about at this football club, we want people to go 'this is Mansfield Town, this is what they stand for and they’re good at it'.” “We’ve put a lot of good work in to pre-season and we just want it to start. We’ve got a lot of energy in the group, a lot of focus and we just want to get started now. "There’s a real focus from the staff and the players and everyone around the ground at the minute and it’s been interesting to see that focus change this week from the pre-season mode to the fact that the points are on the line now.” Murray’s new look squad face a tough first month of the season but the Gaffer insists he’d want it no other way. He said: “In that first month we need to hit the ground running. It’s going to be intense. There are a lot of games and as long as we stick to what we believe in then we’ll be okay.” “We’ll get better and stronger as each game goes by and as each training session goes by I see an improvement. It’s going to be a gradual process but the good thing for us is [that] we’ve gelled very quickly over pre-season and we’re a little bit ahead of schedule to where I expected.” The squad that Murray has assembled over the close season isn’t just made up of good footballers, but also good people, he has claimed. “We’ve got a group of men in there who have an unbelievable desire to achieve for Mansfield Town, hence the reason we signed them. "I've said numerous times that we sign good people, and with good people comes that professionalism, that focus and the drive to achieve as an individual. If you look at our group, they’ve all won. They’ve all achieved something in their careers.” Murray wants to turn One Call Stadium in to a fortress this season, starting with this Saturday’s match against Carlisle. He said: “I hope it’s raining, it’s horrible and the sun's not out. I want it as bad as possible. It’s not an occasion where we want it to be pretty, and we don’t want to go out there, put our sun tan cream on and enjoy the weather and enjoy watching Carlisle. We want to come and make it horrible, we want it absolutely pouring down and we want to make an atmosphere in here that makes this ground a real intense place to come this season.” The manager had some good news to report on the fitness of both winger Matty Blair and striker Adi Yussuf. On Blair he said: “When we get him up to full training and up to full speed we’ll sit down with Matt and make sure the deal's right for the football club and for Blairy and what an addition [it will be to] to have coming back in to the squad. He’s someone who we signed back in January with the hope that he’ll be 'The X Factor', a match-winner. He scores goals, he creates goals and he’ll be a great bonus for us.” Following a spell on the sidelines due to a mixture of Ramadan and a couple of niggling injuries for frontman Yussuf,, the Gaffer is pleased with how the ex-Oxford City striker is progressing: “Over the last ten days he’s pushed himself, he’s a mentally strong boy and physically he’s 'a beast'. "He played in a behind-closed-doors game last week and scored again and he’s one of these guys that when he’s on the pitch he seems to get chances, hence why he scored 30-odd goals last season. "I think he’s someone that needs the right management. He needs the belief put in to him and he needs an arm around his shoulder at times and a kick up the backside when he drops off. I’ve got real belief in Adi and I think he’ll surprise a few [people] this season.” --------------------- Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray says squad cannot wait to get at Carlisle United chad.co.uk, by Stephen Thirkill, Thursday 06 August 2015 Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray believes his side has the ingredients needed to be a success in League Two this season. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-boss-adam-murray-says-squad-cannot-wait-to-get-at-carlisle-united-1-7396648 Stags kick off their campaign at home to Carlisle United with optimism high that they can improve on last season’s lowly 21st place finish. Murray has added 13 new players to his ranks with Confernece title-winning hero Matt Green headlining the players coming into the One Call Stadium during the summer. “We have gelled quickly over pre-season and we are a little ahead of schedule,” said Murray. “We have got a bunch of players who have an unbelievable desire to achieve for Manfield Town, which is why we signed them. “I’ve said before, I sign good people and with that comes a professionalism and focus and the drive as an individual to win. “If you look at most of our group, most of the players have all won something, have been promoted and achieved something in their career. “We are just getting going, we have had a lot of movement with 13 new players in and the more games we have the better and stronger we will become, it’s going to be a gradual process. “I have a goal in mind of where I want to take this place and where I want to go personally and we have only just started. We need to make sure we hit the ground running. “I have been here a long time and this is the best atmosphere because people are looking at things realistically. People are understanding that this is a tough league and there are some big teams in the league. “There is an optimism, balanced with realism, and I like it. I don’t think people are getting carried away.” Stags have enjoyed a solid pre-season, which featured two 1-1 draws with Leicester City and MK Dons. And Murray believes that his side will benefit from a tough pre-season and are fully prepared for the challenges ahead. He added: “We have got a tricky few weeks with three away games in a row and we go straight into a local derby in our first away game, which will be a big one. “We go straight into a test and we will make sure we are prepared for it. We want to go out and win on Saturday and we want to put our game onto Carlisle and make sure they come to this arena and know that they have been in a game. “We want an atmosphere here that is intense and makes it a real difficult place to come, that is what we will be doing on the pitch. “I’m bored of the summer, we have a lot of good work gone in and we want to start. We have got a lot of energy and focus in the group and we just want to get started. “There is a focus from staff and players and everyone around the ground. It’s been interesting to see that focus change from pre-season mode to one where we know the points are on the line. “We have approached every pre-season game with the aim of achieveing our objectives. We have had our foot down from day one, but you sense that something in the air changes on the Monday before the first game of the season. “There has been a real intensity in training, it’s now about going into the fine detail and making sure that, come 3pm on Saturday, we are ready to beat Carlisle. “There are a lot of games and it will be intense, but as long as we stick to what we believe in we will be ok.” Visit http://www.chad.co,uk for the latest breaking Mansfield Town news and full coverage of Stags v Carlisle United. -------------------- Mansfield Town hoping on trio’s fitness chad.co.uk, by John Lomas, Thursday 06 August 2015 Mansfield Town remain hopeful that injured winger Matty Blair can prove his fitness and rejoin the squad this month. Blair, out since February with a serious knee injury, has made steady progress, though defender Luke Jones remains sidelined after a year and boss Adam Murray said this week: “Nothing has really changed regarding those two. http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/sport/local-sport/mansfield-town-hoping-on-trio-s-fitness-1-7394678 “Blairy is back running and he’s looking strong and fit. So we will sit down with him over the next couple of weeks and decide where we go with that one. “Luke is still under the care of specialists and deciding the path he is going to take. “That will be a decision that Luke and the club will make over the next month. Hopefully we will have some more detailed information soon.” Stags expect to have Adi Yussuf in the squad this weekend after the new striker did extra training sessions to make up for the weakness he suffered after observing Ramadan. “He is strong, he’s trained and he played in a behind-closed-doors game and scored at the end of last week,” said Murray “He seems to have a habit of putting it in the net so far. It’s been a little bit frustrating for him as he’s not been able to hit the levels yet that he wants to. “But since he came back from Ramadan he’s been putting the extra work in. he’s been doing extra fitness sessions and he looks sharp, he looks strong, and that’s a bonus for us.” --------------------- |
Latest | August 2015