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Archived News from October 2015

MURRAY WANTS TO INCREASE THE INTENSITY
9th October 2015 23:28


Boss wants to increase intensity
mansfieldtown.net, 5th October 2015

Mansfield Town manager Adam Murray has called on his players to 'intensify their focus' in training as they look to maintain their good start to their Sky Bet League Two season.

Stags currently lie in sixth position following their dramatic 4-3 victory over Dagenham and Redbridge on Saturday and sit only two points off the automatic promotion places and four points from top spot.

Reflecting on the weekend's result, Murray said: "Full credit to the lads on Saturday because they weren't at the races to start with, but they figured it out, turned it around and really did put Dagenham to the sword, they've could've had six or seven.

Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/hard-work-starts-now-for-murray-2729792.aspx#wyb2QPx0IqXyrPlL.99

"The biggest thing now is we don't get complacent. We've won a couple of games but that's it, we'll be working very hard this week - it will be double sessions and we'll make sure nothing's left unturned. There's a real unity about everything we're doing at the minute and it bodes for a good atmosphere.

"We need to keep our focus, keep doing what we're doing and up the intensity again. We want to put more points on the board but we'll only do that if we stick to the basics and understand what's got us to where we are at the minute."

Speaking on his approach ahead of two consecutive home games, Murray added: "Home or away, it doesn't matter to me, we're going into every game preparing to win. It's about the process and the path you're on. If you constantly get that right with every detail, the end bit takes care of itself.

"It's brilliant celebrating wins and I love winning, but once it's done we're back to having an aggression about us to be successful and that's my frame of mind."

The manager lauded the position of the football club, off the pitch as well as on it, and was particularly pleased with Stags' supporters who made the trip to East London on Saturday.

"It's in a great place and that's not just because of the football side, everyone's together - the fans were incredible on Saturday. We've not been at our best and things haven't gone 100% to plan this season, but they can see what we're trying to do and trying to build.

"There's an optimism that has an unbelievable balance of realism which I've said since pre-season, and that hasn't always been the case here. If we stick together and keep working hard, when the tough times come - because there will be off days - as long as we stick together and stay on the same page, we'll be okay."

Murray also praised the contribution of Adi Yussuf, who scored the winning goal at the Chigwell Construction Stadium to move the Stags up a place in the table.

"He's missed a couple of chances but that's partly due to his lack of game time. Every time he comes on the pitch he gets chances; he's been a little bit rusty but forward players are always better when they're playing off instinct. I've always said that Adi would build into this football club and I was over the moon for him on Saturday.

"He was causing problems, we made the decision to get him on early and he was a constant threat, him and Greeny (Matt Green) work really well together. We're really confident in Adi, he's someone we had a lot of faith in when we signed him.

“You have to believe that the faith you have in something will ultimately give you the rewards, and Adi will do that."

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No let-up at high-flying Mansfield Town as boss Adam Murray ups the intensity
chad.co.uk, by John Lomas, Monday 05 October 2015

Although Mansfield Town are flying high in sixth place in League Two, manager Adam Murray said he would be intensifying training this week and wanted his players to get their foot down on the gas ahead of Saturday’s home clash with bottom club Newport County.

Murray felt Saturday’s rollercoaster 4-3 away win at Dagenham was a perfect way for his players to get the kick up the backside he felt they needed to avoid complacency while still managing to win, Stags seeing a 1-0 lead evaporate and trail 3-1 before a fightback that ended with two late goals to snatch the win.

http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/no-let-up-at-high-flying-mansfield-town-as-boss-adam-murray-ups-the-intensity-1-7497253?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

“Probably for the neutral it was a great game to watch. From our point of view, it was a great game in that it gave us a kick up the backside for certain parts of the team,” said Murray.

“Even though we have been brilliant for the last few weeks, sometimes you need that slap round the head to get you going again. Fortunately for us we have managed to do it by picking up three points.

“The first half-hour was not up to the standards the boys have set and we got found out a little bit.

“So it was a good wake-up call. But once got that first 30 minutes out the way I thought we were tremendous. We showed that we have got different tools in the armoury that we can use.”

He added: “We played some great stuff and put them on the back foot. We went and played in their final third and controlled the tempo for large parts of the game. So overall I was really pleased as we showed a maturity in the end to figure out how we were going to win the game.

“We never laid down and we had that never-say-die attitude that we are instilling into the group. So full credit goes to the lads for Saturday.

“They understood that they weren’t at the races to start off with but they turned it around and really put Dagenham to the sword. I think we could have had six or seven on Saturday. A few more would have gone in with a bit more ruthlessness. To be fair to their keeper, he made some ridiculous saves.”

Stags went into the game having conceded only six goals all season, the third best record in the while Football League. But by half-time they had let three more in.

“Their goals were all our own fault,” said Murray. “We spoke about certain things in the build-up to the game I was aware of that would take place and they didn’t take that on board, which is not like this group.

“Everything I have told them, every plan we have put into place, we have carried them out so far. Hence why we are where we are. It just reiterates it to the boys that when we don’t carry the plans out, things won’t go our way.

“We killed ourselves with the goals. It was poor play from us. It is something we will be looking at this week and learning from and working on. It’s back to the training ground and the foot goes down again.”

Having won at Stevenage in midweek and taken an early lead at Dagenham, Murray agreed that some complacency may have slipped in

He said: “As much as the boys aim to be professional at every point in the game and the preparation, there is always a subconscious thing seeps in, especially when you are playing as well as they have been, and it just proved the point that we can’t take the foot off the gas.

“If we think we can turn up to places 70 or 80 per cent and perform, you get found out. So it was brilliant for me. It gave them the wake-up call I believe some of them may have needed.

“Sometimes as a coach you can tell people this is what might be around the corner if we don’t keep doing what we are doing, but for them to witness it and see it with their own eyes they were hurt on Saturday and it was the biggest learning curve they could have had.”

Murray revealed after the game that there was a half-time bust-up between his players over what had gone wrong, which left Murray little to do in terms of motivation.

“It was brilliant. You need that,” he said. “If they had gone in there and accepted it and it had been quiet and heads down, or there was an acceptance about the environment, winners don’t do that.

“So for the reaction we got, it made me smile. I was happy with it. We put the technical and tactical information to them after that and we saw a different team in the second half.

“We were a million times better and back to what we are about. Our two centre halves defended and we created numerous problems.

“The motivational bit was done by the players. They do it day in day out on the training ground. They hold their own meetings on the training ground when things are not going right, which is not very often.

“Credit to them. The big thing is we don’t get complacent. We’ve won a couple of games this week and that’s it. We will be working very hard this week, double sessions, and we will make sure nothing is left unturned.”

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Adi Yussuf will blossom now after getting of the mark, says Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray
chad.co.uk, by John Lomas, Monday 05 October 2015

Now he has his first League goal under his belt, Mansfield Town manager Adam Murray is convinced summer signing Adi Yussuf will now blossom.

Although his first team chances have been limited so far, the 23-year-old bagged a late winner in Saturday’s thrilling 4-3 win at Dagenham & Redbridge to underline the goalscoring instinct that served him so well at Conference South Oxford City.

http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/adi-yussuf-will-blossom-now-after-getting-of-the-mark-says-mansfield-town-boss-adam-murray-1-7497373?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Yussuf had missed a couple of good chances when coming on as a substitute already, but Murray puts that down to lack of match action and has complete faith the club have a real gem on their hands.

“He has missed a couple of chances, partly due to the fact he hasn’t had much game time,” said Murray.

“He’s been a little bit rusty with his instincts. Forward players are always best when they are not thinking and playing off instinct.

“I have always said Adi will build into this football club and I was over the moon for him on Saturday. Before the goal he was causing problems.

“We made the decision to get him on early and he was a constant threat. Him and Greeny (Matt Green) worked really well together and I think you look at his goal, to be fair, Greeny created it with his hard work and he won the battle that allowed Adi to get the final piece.”

After scoring the late winner on Saturday, Yussuf ran to the crowd to celebrate his first ever League goal with his parents, who have watched him play since he was 10, and Murray added: “It sums up the atmosphere we’ve created in this group.

“We went to games last year and you get a certain amount of complimentary tickets from the opposition team and at home games here. Last year it was very rare all the tickets got used up.

“This season we need more tickets because people’s families want to come and watch them, their friends want to come and watch them. There is a real unity about everything we are doing at the minute and it bodes for a good atmosphere.”

Stags fans have already seen one Conference South goalscorer with a big reputation, Ollie Palmer, fail to hit the mark two levels above. But Murray promised: “For me there is a difference between Olly and Adi, I will keep that to myself.

“You look at the amount of chances Adi gets when he plays, even in pre-season friendlies, every time he’s come on the pitch as a sub, he gets chances. The only reason he’s not taken those chances is game time.

“When he gets that game time consistently, he will score goals. We are really confident in Adi. He is someone that we had a lot of faith in when we signed him.

“I think that’s the scary thing for supporters, when you sign someone that has come from non-League, you can’t see faith. It’s something you have to believe in and know that the faith you have in someone, in the end it will you ultimately give you the rewards you believe in - and Adi will do that.”

Murray had a final word of praise for striker Green, who bagged a penalty and played a big part in the winner.

“Again Greeny’s selfless performance was superb on Saturday and the boys behind him played with a lot of freedom and pace and we created a lot of problems,” said Murray.

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Change of manager at Newport County will make task tougher for Mansfield Town on Saturday
chad.co.uk, by John Lomas

Adam Murray knows the change of manager at League Two bottom club Newport County this week will make the home clash with the Welsh club a much tougher proposition on Saturday.

http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/change-of-manager-at-newport-county-will-make-task-tougher-for-mansfield-town-on-saturday-1-7497424

England international star Terry Butcher was axed last Thursday and the Exiles immediately brought in former Oldham, Chesterfield and Plymouth boss John Sheridan, who steered them to a 1-1 home draw with Exeter City.

“I watched the game from Saturday and they played well,” said Murray.

“Obviously John has got a certain way of playing. He knows the league and he will bring a structure to their team.

“So it will be a different game to what we would have got a week ago. But we will prepare as much as we can for them and make sure we know our roles and our jobs. We have to keep our focus, keep doing what we are doing and we need to up the intensity again.

“We want to put more points on the board and we will only do that if we stick to the basics. We have to understand what has got us where we are in the league at the minute.”

Murray added: “When you get the day to day process right, the path you are on, then the end outcome takes care of itself.

“It’s training ground week this week. Obviously having a Saturday/Tuesday last week we didn’t get much training ground time. We will hammer home our tactical work and our fitness work.

“It’s brilliant celebrating wins and I love winning, but once it’s done we are back to having an aggression about us to be successful and that’s my frame of mind at the minute.”

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Chris Clements close to Mansfield Town return, Matty Blair ready for a start
chad.co.uk, by John Lomas

Adam Murray said there is an outside hope that midfield ace Chris Clements could be fit enough to rejoin the Mansfield Town first team for Saturday’s visit of bottom club Newport County.

http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/chris-clements-close-to-mansfield-town-return-matty-blair-ready-for-a-start-1-7497427?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

He also said, despite no midweek friendly planned to help boost Matty Blair’s fitness, he would have no qualms throwing the winger in if needed for a first start since his serious knee injury in January.

On Clements, Murray said: “Hopefully we will have Chris Clements back very soon. Saturday wouldn’t be too soon for me - it’s these physios. You’ve got to watch these physios, they have cotton wool round his ears at the minute.

“They know better than I do and they won’t risk Clem if he’s not right, but Saturday might be an opportunity.”

On Blair, he added: “He is working his socks off. He is in a good place. In a perfect world we’d have another game this week. But unless we can find a five-a-side team that wants to play us, we haven’t got the players to get another game.

“The youth team are flying but they’ve got cup games to play too , so we haven’t the numbers to put a team out that would enable Matty Blair to get some more minutes. So he is just having his training programme intensified.

“We are putting him in as many game-related scenarios as we can and getting him kicked as much as we can. But he looks fit, he looks strong.

“I would have no hesitation at putting him in now. But the boys that are in there at the minute are superb. They are playing with a real confidence and arrogance at the minute which is great to see.

“What they are doing is they are buying into the defensive side of the game that I want, sometimes with attacking flair players they think that’s all they have to do.

“If that’s the case they won’t be in the team. But at the minute this structure is getting us where we are and they have to do that nitty-gritty bit.

“Matty is learning that, coming back into the fold. He has now got to earn his right.”

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Latest | October 2015