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Archived News from July 2016

MURRAY AND HULL REACTION
26th July 2016 23:59



Boss pleased with side's workout in Tigers test
mansfieldtown.net, 20th July 2016

Stags’ boss Adam Murray says tonight’s match against Hull City was used as a ‘shape session’ for his side preparations for the upcoming Sky Bet League Two season.

Murray’s men slipped to a 1-0 defeat against a strong Tigers’ side at One Call Stadium, courtesy of a second half strike from substitute Jarrod Bowen.

And the manager says his side had to be disciplined in their approach against the Premier League side, whose lineup boasted bags of top flight experience.

“The workout tonight, it was designed for fitness and thinking at the same time,” Murray said.

Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/2016-17/boss-pleased-with-sides-workout-in-tigers-test-3195307.aspx#Rpb4oWYgX1qTElT5.99

“I think when you work hard and you physically 'go' you mentally 'go' as well, so we wanted to test those boundaries tonight, we wanted to make sure that when the boys got tired we kept our discipline, we kept our organisation - we used it as a shape session.

“It was a great workout for us in terms of the organisation side of things and it proves the point that [if] you switch off for that split second against good players you get punished.”

Murray introduced youngsters Cameron Healey and Teddy Bloor in the second half and the 34-year-old says it’s important to get young players involved in games like tonight.

“For football fans and for a football club and for someone like myself, this club is obviously a big part of my life, we want 'our own' in.

“So we feel the more we can get experiences like this into the boys, the better it will hold them in the future.”

An outstanding performer against the Tigers was veteran goalkeeper Brian Jensen who made three terrific saves during the encounter and Murray praised the qualities of both the Dane and fellow stopper Scott Shearer.

“On the other end of the scale, you’ve got people like Brian Jensen in the team tonight who was outstanding.

“When you do need to call upon people, he made some great saves and it just goes to show that somebody at the stage of his career, he’s one hell of a weapon and we’re blessed to have two goalkeepers like that."

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Stags boss Murray delighted with Premier League work-out
chad.co.uk, by John Lomas, Tuesday 19 July 2016

Mansfield Town manager Adam Murray was delighted with his side’s discipline and stamina in tonight’s 1-0 home pre-season friendly defeat by Premier League new boys Hull City.

Jarrod Bowen scored the only goal on 55 minutes as the Tigers increasingly tested Murray’s League Two squad and he said: “It was exactly what we expected when you come up against that standard of opposition.

“The work-out tonight was designed for fitness and thinking at the same time.

http://m.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/stags-boss-murray-delighted-with-premier-league-work-out-1-8023116

“When you work hard and you physically go, you mentally go as well. So we wanted to test those boundaries tonight and make sure that when the boys got tired, we kept our discipline and kept our organisation.

“We used it as a shape session and we got exactly that out of it. It was a great work-out for us in terms of the organisational side of things and it proves a point that if you switch off for that split second against good players then you get punished.

“I felt at times tonight we were really good with the ball. But when you come up against Premier League opposition like that, it’s hard to take that fear factor out of it.”

Murray added: “Sometimes when we did win the ball back we’ve got good enough players to hurt any team, and I think we could have done that a little bit more.

“I am really chuffed with the work-out and we move on to the next one.”?Stags fielded two trialists tonight with an accomplished-looking left back completing the game and a big target man playing the second half.

“It was two balanced, separate performances, so we will have a look at them for the rest of the week and then we’ll make a decision on them,” he said.

On being able to add to his squad ahead of the big kick-off, Murray said: “We’d have to speak to the powers that be, but we have 20 players that can push for a shirt, the rest are kids, and I think it’s shown in pre-season that if you do take a slight couple of injuries, you’re down to bare bones straight away.

“Sometimes you’ve got to have that cover to keep you strong, especially with the windows next year.

“I think 21 would be more comfortable.”

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Stags keeper’s shirt still up for grabs
chad.co.uk, by John Lomas, Tuesday 19 July 2016

Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray admitted he had yet to decide on who will begin the season in goal for the Stags after veteran Brian Jensen’s man of the match showing against Premier League Hull City last night.

With Scott Shearer, 35, losing his place early last season to an insect bite that turned nasty on him, giant Danish stopper Jensen, 41, took over and was immoveable until after Christmas when Shearer re-took the shirt and held it to the end.

http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/stags-keeper-s-shirt-still-up-for-grabs-1-8024800?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Many fans thought Shearer was in pole position to start the new campaign, but Murray said: “I think we are blessed to have two goalkeepers like that when you do need to call on people.

“You look at Brian’s performance against Hull and I’d be a fool to decide on that now.

“This is not a cliché or me trying to keep people working for the shirt as I don’t have to do that as I’ve got a group that are like little hungry rabbits in there who all want to play at Newport.

“But when Brian puts in performances like that, nobody is guaranteed a shirt.

“I thought he was outstanding against Hull and made some great saves. It just goes to show that even somebody at this stage of his career is one hell of a weapon.

“Brian has played in the Premier League - the top of the pyramid - for most of his career. And Scott has had seven promotions.

“For Mansfield Town to have two keepers of this stature is a privilege.”

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Clemence: Mansfield Performance Warranted More Goals
hullcitytigers.com

Stephen Clemence believes the Tigers’ performance at Mansfield on Tuesday night warranted a more comfortable victory.

Jarrod Bowen’s 55th-minute goal ensured the Tigers recorded a 1-0 win over the League Two outfit at the One Call Stadium, giving the side their first pre-season victory following the goalless stalemate with Grimsby Town last week.

But despite ending the match victorious, Clemence believes the Tigers should have won by a greater margin.

“Being honest, we probably should have won the game by a greater margin,” he said after the game.

Read more at http://www.hullcitytigers.com/news/article/2016-17/clemence-mansfield-performance-warranted-more-goals-3196960.aspx#19eAqlIStzRzo2MH.99

“We started to knock the ball about much better after the first 20-25 minutes and I thought we dominated the game after that, especially in the second half.

“The boys are getting up to speed and once they got into their rhythm last night, I thought the whole team did ever so well.

“The big positive was that we played some really good football, although I would have liked to have seen us take more of the chances we created.

“Credit to Mansfield because they played some good football themselves and made it a tough test for us, but we could have had three or four goals in the end, and the biggest disappointment was that we only managed to find the back of the net on the one occasion.”

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Sam Clucas @samclucas
Good night seeing some familiar faces at Mansfield all the best for the season

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Latest | July 2016