Archived News from December 2015
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MURRAY&McGUIRE PREVIEW ORIENT/LUKE JONES TO RETIRE
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Adam Murray interview (21 mins) in full on StagsPlayer
http://www.player.mansfieldtown.net/latest-news by Martin Shaw Murray says he's had no contact from Walsall. But he says the speculation shows how well the football club is doing. He's gives all the credit to the players. Says the Orient game will be a good challenge for us. He wants us to beat one of the big boys now. The group's in a good place - fresh mentally and physically. We've got a real drive to kick on now. Saturday will be about focus, concentration and sticking to the game plan. We had one lapse of concentration against Northampton and it cost us. He says talking to the media two or three times per week had become boring, just talking about the same things over and over again. He says the little break has done everybody good. Not spoken to the chairman about Jan transfer window yet. Talks about taking some of the youth team training sessions himself on the players' days off. The Morecambe game could be a possible comeback game for Hunt. He says Luke Jones is going to look at retiring now. "We'd like to keep Blair Adams for as long as we can. If that means the season, that's brilliant. Because you look at the modern game, it wouldn't harm me to play both of them in the same team." "Fitzpatrick has gone out on loan to Carlton. He's got man of the match in two games. It's a major step in his development and I'm hoping it'll have the Jack Thomas effect where he come back and he can affect the first team." "We played the Nike Academy down at St Georges on Friday so that the lads that needed a run out got a run out and we worked on some stuff." For the detail, sign up to StagsPlayer, follow this link. StagsPlayer costs £37.99 for 12 months. That's about 73p per week. --------------------- Mansfield boss Adam Murray back in front of the media chad.co.uk, by John Lomas Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray yesterday staged what has become a rare occurrence in recent weeks - a press conference. Local newspapers, radio and StagsPlayer subscribers had become frustrated over the past month by Murray’s reluctance to speak or allow his players to speak in midweek. However, he was suddenly back in business yesterday in the middle of a two-week lay-off from action for the club and said: “I know you lot have lost your heads because I haven’t spoken to you for a few weeks, but it’s good. Everybody needs it. “You look at the start of the season I was talking to you two or three times a week and it was becoming boring and mundane talking about the same things. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/mansfield-boss-adam-murray-back-in-front-of-the-media-1-7615509#ixzz3tqd5vLUQ “You get bored, I get bored, the fans start getting bored because it just turns into talking for talking’s sake. “But I think the break has done everybody good. It’s brought us all back physically and mentally fresh and we now have a real drive and focus about Saturday as we want to kick on again.” ---------------------- Mansfield Town defender Luke Jones to retire with injury chad.co.uk, by John Lomas Former Stags defender Luke Jones has bowed to the inevitable and finally announced his retirement due to his long-term Achilles tendon injury. Jones, 28, returned to Stags for a third spell in summer 2014, but a pre-season injury failed to clear, despite a succession of operations and treatments and his main goal now it to make sure he can walk in the future. “I spoke to Luke the other day and I think he is going to look at retiring now,” said boss Adam Murray. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/mansfield-town-defender-luke-jones-to-retire-with-injury-1-7614357#ixzz3tqdrOiWf “It’s been a nightmare for him. He hasn’t walked properly for 18 months/two years, so the first port of call is walking. “The longer term picture, if anything, is if it goes wrong again, it might affect his ability to even walk. “So Luke is looking down the line of hanging the boots up and we are all obviously gutted for him as he is not just a quality footballer, he is a top man as well. For someone to have their career cut short like that, it’s a kick in the gonads.” Jones started his career at Blackburn Rovers without making any first-team appearances, though had a loan spell with Cercle Brugge of the Belgian First Division. He was released by Blackburn in the summer of 2006 and, after a brief spell at Ashton United, joined League Two side Shrewsbury Town in November 2006. From there he was loaned out to Conference National club Kidderminster Harriers and signed for them on a permanent basis ahead of the 2008-09 season when he established a regular place. After a year at Kidderminster, he spent one season at Mansfield, scoring twice in 24 starts, before becoming Forest Green Rovers’ club captain for the 2010/11 campaign. He returned to Kidderminster the following season, and then re-joined the Stags in June 2012. This time he helped the club to the Conference National title, making 32 starts and scoring an impressive eight goals. At the end of the season Jones signed for League One side Stevenage on a free transfer before returning to Mansfield a year later. ------------------- Luke Jones: Mansfield defender on verge of retirement http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35053480 Mansfield manager Adam Murray says defender Luke Jones will almost certainly have to retire because of an Achilles tendon injury. Jones, 28, has not played for the Stags since rejoining them from Stevenage for a third spell in May 2014. "He's had two years of hell. His main focus is being able to live day-to-day life as best he can," Murray told BBC Radio Nottingham. "He still can't walk to 100% and we're gutted for him as a football club." Mansfield are currently seventh in League Two and occupying the final play-off spot. Murray added: "The specialist has said that if he were to risk coming back then it could impact on his ability to get around so that is something he is going to have to deal with." Jones made 25 league appearances in his first spell with the club before helping them to promotion back to the Football League in 2012-13, scoring eight goals in 33 league games. --------------------- Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray sends best wishes to his storm-hit former club Carlisle United chad.co.uk, by John Lomas As a former Carlisle United player, Mansfield Town manager Adam Murray has sent his best wishes to the Cumbrians whose town and football ground is under flood water once more after being hammered by Storm Desmond. Tens of thousands of homes across northern England and parts of Scotland are without power after the floods and Cumbria is one of the worst-hit areas The club’s home ground, Brunton Park, close to both the rivers Petteril and Eden, has been engulfed by flood water for the second time in 11 years. “It is horrendous. For a town that is so tightly-knit up there, it hits them hard,” said Murray. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/video-mansfield-town-boss-adam-murray-sends-best-wishes-to-his-storm-hit-former-club-carlisle-united-1-7614783#ixzz3tqdlzH4m “I can remember last time it happened just before I signed and the effect it had for months and months, not just the ruining of homes and buildings, but for the individuals it affects them as you build something up and it gets knocked down again. It does take years to get back. “As a football club our thoughts go out to all the people up there. The way they are as people and as a town it will make them stronger. “Unfortunately it’s one of those times you have to dig in and swim for it.” Carlisle are now managed by former Stags boss Keith Curle, and the club’s players have this week offered to help any local residents in any way they can with the clear-up. -------------------- Time to start taking rivals’ scalps says Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray chad.co.uk, by John Lomas After a two-week break, Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray has ordered his side to start taking the scalps of promotion rivals ahead of Saturday’s visit of Leyton Orient. Although the Stags remain seventh in the play-off spots, they are still yet to beat any of the sides in and around them and, despite some superb performances and hard-fought draws, have yet to beat a side in the top 15 of League Two all season. With no FA Cup game last weekend, Stags enjoyed a breather while eighth-placed Orient were battling out a draw with Scunthorpe United, leaving them the distraction of facing a replay on Tuesday. “This is a game we have a real focus on,” said Stags boss Adam Murray. “We want to beat one of the big boys now. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/time-to-start-taking-rivals-scalps-says-mansfield-town-boss-adam-murray-1-7615518#ixzz3tuILpngz “We are picking up some good results against a lot of teams and we want to cement ourselves in that top seven. To do that you have to beat teams in and around you. “I think Leyton Orient will end up inside the top three/top four this season. You look at the squad and the resources they’ve got, they are one of the big clubs in this league and it is going be a good challenge for us - a tough one, but another chance for this group to pit their wits against some of the better players in this league and see how we fare.” He added: “We are in a good place at the moment. We feel confident. We feel fresh mentally and physically. “We want to kick on again now. We’ve put ourselves in a good position and, being honest, against all the odds as we were relegation favourites a few months ago. “We just need to keep doing what we are doing. The sides we’ve played, Plymouth, Oxford - even Northampton, we’ve performed really well against them. The big thing we are finding in those tougher games and top of the table clashes is that a one per cent lack of focus costs you. “In certain games you might be able to get away with the odd error and cover it up at the other end. Against the top teams you don’t get that chance. Northampton was a perfect example. We had one lapse of concentration and we conceded. “So Saturday will be all about focus and concentration and sticking to the game plan. “Also we are at home and, for me, we haven’t really kicked on at home yet. Our away form is top drawer. What we now need to do is get our home form to that standard. If we do that we will be right up there. “We are really confident as a group that on Saturday and for the rest of the season we can start turning that around and making this a place people fear coming.” Murray said the current two-week break had been perfectly-timed. “We’ve been working hard and it couldn’t have come at a better time really,” he said. “We’d been through a hectic schedule that I think caught up with us at the back end of the Exeter game. “We had in in our minds that we wanted to get through the Barnet game, then we had a free weekend to balance the rest and recovery up and put in some work on the training ground. “Going Saturday/Tuesday/Saturday/Tuesday was a shock to the system. It was the first time we’d done it this season and we lacked time on the training ground. “Physically it had its demands and though we tried to freshen it up, sometimes with a small squad you lose that flow and that consistency. “The break was needed in every aspect and the boys have worked well.” Murray’s hopes of a behind-closed-doors friendly proved difficult to organise, but they did end up with a much-needed outing for players needing minutes. “It’s tough getting a team to play in that break as a lot want to the time to rest or had games,” he said. “So we played the Nike Academy again on Friday down at St George’s where the surface was top drawer. We were comfortable in our environment, knowing we were not going onto a parks pitch where we were risking injuries. “The lads that needed a run-out got a run-out and we worked on a bit of stuff.” Along with injured full backs Nicky Hunt and Mal Benning, Stags will also be missing midfield ace Chris Clements on Saturday as he serves a one-game ban. But striker Chris Beardsley, who broke his nose on his playing comeback at Barnet two Saturdays back after recovering from a stress fracture of the shin, will be in the squad. Orient could include former Stags striker Ollie Palmer, who left the club in the summer. ------------------ Chris Beardsley return is big boost for Mansfield Town chad.co.uk, by John Lomas The return from injury of Mansfield Town striker Chris Beardsley is a massive boost to the club, says manager Adam Murray. Beardsley has been recovering from a stress fracture in his shin and, despite getting his nose broken in a brief substitute’s appearance at Barnet two Saturdays back, he is in the squad for tomorrow’s visit of Leyton Orient and a vital cog in Murray’s machine. “One thing we have missed over the last couple of months is the Chris Beardsley-type of centre forward and it’s good to have him back,” said Murray. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/chris-beardsley-return-is-big-boost-for-mansfield-town-1-7615576#ixzz3tuIVWB8i “When he did get injured it went a bit under the radar - it was a stress fracture in his shin which has taken time to heal. “We have to manage him and his training loads, and it will take him a bit to get to where he can play for 70/80/90 minutes. “But what he does do - you saw against Barnet, he came on for five minutes, got his nose broke, smashed three or four people, held the ball up and he takes a lot of pressure off the other forward boys. “You look at the forward line we’ve signed, you’ve got Greeny (Matt Green) who goes off movement and pace and obviously goalscoring and finishing, Adi (Yussuf) is the same kind of player though a bit more of a link-up, Westy (Craig Westcarr) is the brains behind the operation and Beardo does the exact opposite to all of them. “He does the ugly stuff. He is an aerial threat and we haven’t had that. When teams have parked the bus and we can’t break them down with our football, sometimes you’ve got to put it in there and say right we’ll mix this up for 10 minutes now. We’ve not had that option. “At Northampton we tried putting Taff (Ryan Tafazolli) up there for the last 10 minutes, but he was offside eight times in two minutes. “To have Beardo back with the group gives you another option which is really good.” ----------------- Walsall job link a pat on the back for players - Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray chad.co.uk, by John Lomas Adam Murray said he was delighted to see his name linked with the vacant Walsall manager’s job last week as it meant he and his players’ endeavours were getting noticed at last. The Stags boss was linked with the vacant manager’s post at the League One high-flyers and he said: “I’ve had no contact from Walsall. “But it just proves how well the group is doing. For any manager at any level at any club to be linked with a vacancy, especially in a higher league, it shows your club is doing well. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/walsall-job-link-a-pat-on-the-back-for-players-mansfield-town-boss-adam-murray-1-7615560#ixzz3tvANaGBo “It’s not just about me as a manager, it’s credit to the players more than anybody. I drive the ship, but they are the ones that have to carry out the game plans and put the performances in. “So it is a good pat on the back for the football club in general. It shows we are getting a little bit noticed now for what we are doing.” Murray admitted he has ambition to go as far as he can, but has a real passion to take Mansfield Town forward. “Here, the journey has only just begun for me,” he said. “It’s not something that’s an overnight thing. I have only just turned 34. I have expectations and ambitions to be the best I can. “At the minute I have a real drive inside me to improve this football club. In this first year we’ve done that - we’ve brought it on leaps and bounds in every aspect we can. “It’s just the start for me of a journey that we want to take forward and experience a lot more highs. I am in a good place. “Because of the expectations of Mansfield Town, even in the tough times, we are expected to win every game, and you have to use that as a positive. “Sometimes it can be a tough place to work but is a place you never get to rest on your laurels. You have to be on your toes as a player, as a coach and as a manager and on your game at all times. “If I am being selfish, that makes me better.” --------------------- Refreshed Murray looking forward to Orient test mansfieldtown.net Stags’ boss Adam Murray believes last weekend’s break in the schedule came at a good time for everyone associated with the club. The Stags had a rare weekend off because of our Emirates FA Cup exit to Oldham Athletic last month and Murray believes it was a good opportunity to freshen things up - both physically and mentally. “It couldn’t have come at a better time really, the weekend without a game, because we’ve been through a bit of a hectic schedule. I think it caught up with us at the back end of the Exeter game and we had it in our minds that we wanted to get through Barnet and then we had the free weekend to balance the rest and recovery out,” said Murray. Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/rejuvenated-murray-looking-forward-to-orient-test-2842210.aspx#m2XSFJ0yzeYC7vlG.99 “We put the work in on the training ground and I think [playing] Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday-Tuesday was a shock to the system. We lacked time on the training ground. "[The break] was needed in every aspect, the boys have worked well and they needed it to get some energy back in their systems and get on the training ground again," Murray continued. “I think the little break has done us all good, we’re all mentally and physically fresh, we’ve got a real drive and focus about Saturday - we want to kick on again now.” With Saturday’s fixture against Leyton Orient the first of a run of five games over the Christmas period, Murray is aiming to topple ‘one of the big clubs in Sky Bet League Two. “We want to beat one of the big boys now. We’re picking up some good results against a lot of teams and we’re not used to losing football matches this season, but what we want to do now is cement ourselves in that top seven. “To do that, you have to beat the teams in and around you. I think Leyton Orient will end up in the top three or four this season, you look at the squad and the resources they’ve got, it’s going to be a tough challenge for us." With the Stags sitting in the play-off positions with just under half of the season elapsed, Murray wants his side to improve their home form heading into the second period of the campaign. “For me, we haven’t really kicked on at home yet - if you look at our away form, it’s top drawer. What we need to do now is get our home form to that standard, and if we do that then we’ll be right up there. “We’re confident we can do that and start making this (One Call Stadium) a place where people fear coming.” ------------------ Mansfield Town have no January shopping list as yet chad.co.uk, by John Lomas Adam Murray said he had no immediate plans to bring anyone in during the forthcoming January transfer window at this moment, though would love to keep on-loan Notts County defender Blair Adams for the rest of the campaign if possible. Murray has been operating on a small squad all season and said he will see where things are once the window opens. “I haven’t spoken to the chairman about it yet,” he said. “The group we’ve got has a little bit of everything. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/mansfield-town-have-no-january-shopping-list-as-yet-1-7615587#ixzz3tvxfdQNM “I think any team in the world can always strengthen and it will be a case a little bit closer of seeing where we are and what we actually want to do. “We will sit down over the next few weeks and see where we are and have a look at what the realistic outcome of this season can be. Then it’s what we can do. “What I don’t want to do is bring people into this group for the sake of doing it as we are a very tight-knit group. For people to come in they have to fit in in every way.” Blair Adams has come in and done an excellent job on loan covering for injured left back Mal Benning and Murray said: “You look at Blair coming in and he ticks every box. When we get Mal back that is two very good left backs. “Without getting too carried away they are both doing exceptionally well. I caught Mal kicking a ball yesterday which he wasn’t supposed to be. He is flying and we’ll have to hold him back. That’s a big bonus. “We haven’t a date yet. He’s back with the specialist next week or the week after. He is still in a brace, but once that comes off it’s just a case of getting him back on the grass. The way the bloke is, he’d play tomorrow if he could so we have to keep the reins on him. “That was proved in the last 15-20 minutes of the Bristol Rovers game when he played on with a ruptured ligament and managed to to get through it. “But I think Blair has been excellent and we’d like to keep him as long as we can. If that means a season that’s brilliant. You look at the modern game, it wouldn’t harm me to play both of them in the same team.” He added: “Hunty is coming on well and we are hoping to have him back before the Morecambe game. “Every opposition we’ve come up against have talked about our full backs. Some make the mistake of leaving the scouting reports in the away dressing room which we have a look through, and everything is focused on the strength of our full backs. “When you lose your two first choice full backs it is tough to cover. But credit to Blair, Lee (Collins) and Mitch (Rose) that have come in, they have carried that on. They play the role in different ways but equally as effective.” ----------------- ‘Jack Thomas effect’ for Joe Fitzpatrick at Mansfield Town? chad.co.uk, by John Lomas Young Mansfield Town midfielder Joe Fitzpatrick’s loan spell at Carlton Town is going very well - and boss Adam Murray hopes it will have the desired ‘Jack Thomas effect’ when he returns. Thomas burst into the first team with some impressive displays after being out on loan, Read more: http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/sport/local-sport/jack-thomas-effect-for-joe-fitzpatrick-at-mansfield-town-1-7615609#ixzz3tvxtHgam Fitzpatrick made three appearances for the Stags’ first team last season, and had a one month loan spell at Sutton Coldfield earlier this season. The 18-year-old is at Carlton until 2nd January, and Murray said: “It is an absolute blessing in disguise. “With the amount of ability he’s got we need to make sure we get the best out of him. “He’s gone out there and got man of the match in two games so that will be a major step in his development. “I am hoping it has the ‘Jack Thomas effect’ where he comes back in and he can affect the first team. That’s the whole point of these loans.” ------------------ Exeter defeat a blessing in disguise for Mansfield Town? chad.co.uk, by John Lomas Despite his disappointment on the night, Mansfield Town manager Adam Murray now feels the 2-0 home defeat by Exeter City may prove to be a blessing in disguise as Stags return to the One Call Stadium to try to cement their place in the top seven against rivals Leyton Orient this Saturday. “Sometimes you look at these things and, when the dust settles, that for me personally was a really good night in a weird way,” he said. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/exeter-defeat-a-blessing-in-disguise-for-mansfield-town-1-7615547#ixzz3u3Ikbr3e “After the way we lost against Exeter it probably made it a better feeling to win at Barnet. It was a really professional performance. “With the wind, in one half the lads played some great football and in the other half they fought for their lives. It led us into the break in a good frame of mind.” He added: “It’s a tough balance isn’t it? At the start of the season and in the summer people would have gone - we’ll take a higher finish than last year. Get us in and around mid-table and we’d be happy with that. “As a group we set high targets from day one and managed to get off to a decent start. Then everybody else’s expectations go up. “So when you have a little blip here and there it becomes a bigger issue than it is, which does get magnified at this place probably more than other places. “You could say that makes this a tougher place to work. “For me it does, but that makes it a better place to work as I’ve said all along as a player and as a manager now, it demands from you. “Realistically, we have put in one bad performances this season, that was the Exeter game, and that was something people had become accustomed to last season. So I think it was a shock to everybody in the ground. “The lads as a team didn’t expect it could go that bad. Me as a manager didn’t know it could go that bad. “The big thing after that, looking at reasons why, different things that added up. It was bad but it inspired me a lot and I took a lot out of that loss, probably a lot more than I took out of the wins this season.” ------------------- Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray coaching youth team chad.co.uk, by John Lomas Mansfield Town manager Adam Murray has begun taking at least one youth team training session a week in an effort to smooth the transition between the youth and first team. Stags have already seen youngsters coming through into the first team set-up, 16-year-old striker Zayn Hakeem the latest on the bench for the last home game. “It’s something I’ve been doing over the last few weeks,” explained Murray. “I try to get down there on the lads’ day off when I haven’t got to take the boys here. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/mansfield-town-boss-adam-murray-coaching-youth-team-1-7615596#ixzz3u62hqkuW “I try to do at least one session with them a week because we are not a club that is going to go out and sign that player and that player and that player. I want our own players here. “So if they can see the ideas, the way the first team do things and what I want, when they do come into our group the changeover is a lot smoother. “We have some really good kids - we’ve seen a couple of them on the bench this season already - and there a handful just waiting to come through. When the time is right they will be in there. “So getting them around the first team lads and bringing them into our environment, it’s a big part of what we are building here.” He added: “It’s not an overnight thing. Whatever happens this season, we are putting something together here that bodes well, not just for Adam Murray but for Mansfield Town in general. “That will be over the course of the next two, three, four years. It’s not a shot in the dark where they say ‘that was good for six months’. “I want this to be a legacy that’s left where people go ‘that was the change in those times’ and then someone else can come in and take stick for it.” ---------------- Jamie McGuire ready to plug midfield gap for Mansfield Town against Leyton Orient chad.co.uk, by John Lomas Mansfield Town’s Jamie McGuire said he is raring to go if selected as Stags look to plug the midfield gap left by a one-game ban for Chris Clements for tomorrow’s visit of Leyton Orient. The tenacious McGuire has played a very important supporting role this season and said: “If I am going to play, I’m going to play, if I’m not, I’m not. “The two boys in midfield, Clemmo and Chappie (Adam Chapman), are doing really well. But when I get called upon I’m there. I am ready to go and work hard for this team, for this club and for the town. Read more: http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/sport/local-sport/jamie-mcguire-ready-to-plug-midfield-gap-for-mansfield-town-against-leyton-orient-1-7616675#ixzz3u0GjAUAA “It’s a shame (about Clements’ suspension for two yellow cards at Barnet) as he’s doing really well with Chappie - two good players. At Barnet I thought both of them bossed the game and Clem was a bit unlucky. “I am a bit gutted Chris won’t be there, but whoever steps in on Saturday will hopefully do well.” With Orient just one place and one point behind the seventh-placed Stags, tomorrow is a mouthwatering fixture. “Leyton Orient are up there and are going to be up there, so we are looking forward to this,” said McGuire. “We are at home and we are just looking to kick our home form on now. “It’s a big game - probably one of the biggest in League Two. These games are the games you want to play in and the boys are all buzzing. “Leyton Orient have spent a bit of money and have a big budget. But we’re not too bothered. We’ll worry about us and the game plan the gaffer has put in place for us and hopefully we’ll get three points. “We’ll watch the videos and see what plans we’ve got for them, but when we go out there we will just worry about us to be honest.” Mansfield are returning from a two-week lay-off since the 3-1 win at Barnet with no FA Cup game last weekend and McGuire said: “It’s been a while off now, but it’s been good and the break’s been good for everyone after the three points away at Barnet. “We have worked on a few little things on the training ground. Everything has gone okay and the lads are looking fresh and strong. “Not many teams will go to Barnet and do what we have done. We stuck to the game plan. It’s been a nice little mini-break and we are ready for Saturday now. “We’ve had our days off and rested, but we’ve worked hard on the days we’ve been coming in. “I think some of the lads did some Christmas shopping last Saturday. The boys have done their own thing, they spent time with their families, some of them went home. “Then we came in Monday and we’ve been working hard ever since. “It’s the second half of the season; we are sitting in seventh place with the boys in a healthy position. We are doing really well.” Tomorrow’s game sees a return to One Call Stadium for former Stags striker Ollie Palmer, who moved down to London in the summer. “It will be good to see Ollie back; hopefully he will be on the bench or he won’t score. But I will leave it at that,” said McGuire. “It will be good to say hello to him and that’s it. “I am not worried about Leyton Orient. It’s all about us; about Saturday and getting the fans going. Come down and be our 12th man on Saturday - get behind us and hopefully we can get the three points for you.” McGuires is hoping it will be Stags striker Matt Green, with three goals in his last three games to move onto seven for the season, rather than Palmer who proves to be the matchwinner and said: “I am his biggest fan. “Even when I was playing for Fleetwood and he was scoring goals for Mansfield, I loved watching him. “He scores a lot of goals in training and he’s not many behind the top goalscorers now. “The thing about it is wait until he starts kicking in, that’s the scary thing about it. When Matt Green kicks in, other teams will be worried.” ----------------- Hendon hoping Orient can continue their unbeaten run 10 December 2015, by George Sessions East Londoners visit Mansfield this weekend and could play same formation they used against Scunthorpe United Leyton Orient boss Ian Hendon is keen for his team to continue their momentum at Mansfield Town this weekend. Read more at: http://www.london24.com/sport/football/clubs/leyton-orient/hendon_hoping_orient_can_continue_their_unbeaten_run_1_4344483 The O’s make the trip to Field Mill on Saturday to go up against the Stags, who are seventh in the League Two table. Last time out Mansfield defeated Barnet 3-1 in north London, but were beaten at home by Exeter City on November 24. Hendon believes his side can expect another difficult encounter, but is hoping they can extend their recent unbeaten run. “Listen it is going to be difficult going to Mansfield, they are flying high. It is going to be a tough game,” said the Orient head coach following the Scunthorpe draw. “I keep saying it every week (it will be tough) and at a point of repeating myself, but we will be looking forward to it. “We are four unbeaten and we want to try and make that five at Mansfield.” The east Londoners were without Paul McCallum, Dean Cox, Sammy Moore, Alex Cisak, Jay Simpson, Connor Essam, John Marquis and Cole Kpekawa last weekend. Marquis and Kpekawa are definitely available for the league clash and Orient are hopeful Cisak, Simpson and Essam will be fit. But if their top goalscorer isn’t okay to start, then Hendon appears to have found a back-up formation that works. Ollie Palmer, despite missing two great chances, led the line well against Scunthorpe as Orient played a 4-2-3-1 formation. They could do it again this weekend at Mansfield if Simpson isn’t completely fit or if they decide to rest him for the FA Cup second round replay on Tuesday. Hendon added: “Our formation depends on personnel. If we have got Jay up there, no disrespect to him, but he needs to play with a partner. “There were some positive performances against Scunthorpe. Blair Turgott played really well and that is more like it from him. “I said to the boys after that match ‘thanks, but I am now going to have a headache all week and if we get a few people back the selection for Mansfield is going to be difficult.’” The O’s boss was pleased with how the 4-3-2-1 formation worked against the Iron and it seems like something they could use more in the future. “We played off our shape and created some good chances second half. I was delighted with the way we played,” added Hendon. “Playing against teams from a higher division, they only need one chance and you get punished so we had to defend well. “On the back of that we then created a few chances for ourselves so it was a very pleasing performance.” Another good display on Saturday and Orient could find themselve in the plsay-off places again. ------------------- PREVIEW: Palmer focused on job in hand at former side Mansfield Fri 11 Dec 2015 Author: Colin Munford leytonorient.com Striker Ollie Palmer is eager to fire O's back into play-off positions with victory tomorrow at Mansfield Victory tomorrow however will see the O's move above the Stags, and despite coming up against a former side, Palmer is keen to keep preparations as normal as possible ahead of the trip to the One Call Stadium. "I am not too bothered about going back there," Palmer told Orient PlayerHD. "I am enjoying my time at Leyton Orient and my career is here now. "Coming up against a former side is not part of thinking. It is just another opposition at the end of the day and the aim as ever is to go there and come away with the three point." Read more at http://www.leytonorient.com/news/article/os-striker-palmer-on-stags-test-2846371.aspx#6tR06fEv1q3TBh6O.99 --------------- |
Latest | December 2015