Archived News from August 2016
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MURRAY FOCUSSED ON KEEPING GREEN
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Boss issues 'hands off warning' for striker Green
mansfieldtown.net, 22nd August 2016 Stags’ boss Adam Murray says he is focussed on ensuring that striker Matt Green remains at the club after the transfer window closes on August 31. The manager revealed after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat away to Plymouth Argyle that we have rejected a bid from a club ‘in a higher division’ for the services of the 29-year-old. And Murray says he expects Green to remain with the club after the transfer window closes and he will do all he can to ensure that happens. “As far as I’m concerned, Matt Green’s a Mansfield player, he’s going to stay a Mansfield player unless somebody tells me different,” Murray said, speaking at his weekly news conference this morning. “The conversations I’ve had with Matt, he loves Mansfield Town, he loves the supporters, I think he likes me, and he loves the team; he loves the way we do things, he knows he’s going to get a lot of goals this season or we’re going to create him a lot of opportunities to get goals.” Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/2016-17/manager-focussed-on-keeping-frontman-at-club-3263784.aspx#UgsWSWzvd81y4yu3.99 “My focus is keeping Matt Green and unless something extraordinary comes out [of] the woodwork in the next seven days/ten days, whatever it is, Matt Green will still be a Mansfield player.” The gaffer admitted that every player in the world ‘has a value’ but he will do his utmost to keep the former Birmingham City man at the club, as will chairman John Radford. “We want to keep our best players - I’ve spoken to the chairman and he’s of the same point of view, we don’t need to sell. But at the same token, everybody has a value. “Matt Green’s got a contract for another two years so the rules of [that] contract [is] you’ve got to give 100 percent for the cause and Greeny’s always done that so I expect him to continue to do that.” The Stags' boss has always emphasised the importance of having a tight-knit squad and he says although he classes Green as a friend, he is acutely aware of the ‘professional line’ which has to be respected. “He’s a friend more than anything, so it’s a tough one because the players that I’ve got here that I’ve played with and played against for years and years and years, I’ve got really strong relationships with them but they all know that we have to have a line, a professional line. “There’s no change in this, I have to do what’s right for the football club and that’s my job, that’s what the chairman employs me to do. “Every decision that I make has to be right for the football club so Matt’s a tricky one because we’ve been through a lot together and I love him to bits as a bloke, as a footballer and I think that he’s done a lot for Mansfield Town.” The 34-year-old Stags’ chief believes revealing the news of a bid to the press was the right course of action in order to protect his squad from the effects of rumours. “I’m not turning round and saying there’s 10 million clubs in for Matt. We could have kept this under the radar and let it go but I know what you guys (the press) are like and I keep getting asked about it and it affects the players and it affects the group and I’m not going to allow that to happen. “The best thing we could do is put it on the table - we had a bid for Matt Green, we turned it down, that’s it." Supporters can view Adam Murray’s Monday morning news conference, in full, on Stags PlayerHD. ------------------- Stags hoping to hang onto Green as transfer deadline looms next week by John Lomas, chad.co.uk, Monday 22 August 2016 Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray today said he would be a relieved man once the August transfer window closes as speculation mounts about clubs coming in for goal ace Matt Green. Murray revealed over the weekend that the club had turned down an official bid from a higher division club, rumoured to be Bradford City, and had no intention of selling their prize asset unless someone made an offer too good to refuse by the end of next Wednesday. “Nothing has changed at the minute as far as I am concerned,” said Murray. “Matt Green is a Mansfield player and he is going to stay a Mansfield player unless someone tells me something different. “If Matt wanted to go or if the bid was too good to turn down, you’ve got to understand everyone in the world has a price on their head. Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/stags-hoping-to-hang-onto-green-as-transfer-deadline-looms-next-week-1-8082008? “But we want to keep our best players. I spoke to the chairman and he is of the same point of view - we don’t need to sell. But by the same token, everybody has a value. Click HERE to read Martin Shaw blog on why he thinks Stags won’t go up without Green “If Matt wanted to leave the football club then that’s a different ball game altogether. “That would be a different conversation and one we haven’t had yet. Matt is very positive in his future at Mansfield Town. I know he loves the club and he sees himself as a big part of it. “We will wait and see what happens. There was a little bit of dialogue yesterday.” However, Murray stressed that he hadn’t been serious about the £5m price tag he said he would want for Green last week. “You get asked a question in press about how much do you want for Matt Green and you have a joke you want £5m - the next thing you know, it’s Adam Murray says Green is worth £5m. So let’s now say £200m,” he smiled. “Let’s see how that one hits the headlines!” Nevertheless, Murray has a job to do at the club and knows if serious money was offered he might have to say goodbye to his star man and good friend. “He is a friend more than anything, so it’s a tough one,” he said. “The players I have got here that I’ve played with and played against for years and years, I have really strong relationships with them. “But they all know we have to have a professional line. I have to do what’s right for the football club. That’s my job. That’s what the chairman employs me to do. Every decision I make has to be right for the football club. “Matt is a tricky one as we’ve been through a lot together. I love him to bits as a bloke and as a footballer. I think he’s done a lot for Mansfield Town. But you never know in this game what’s around the corner do you? “My focus is on keeping Matt Green. So unless something extraordinary comes out of the woodwork in the next seven to 10 days, Greeny will still be a Mansfield player and he is under contract for the next two years. “The rules of your contract are you have to give 100 per cent for the cause and Greeny has always done that. So I expect him to continue to do that.” Nevertheless, should the unthinkable happen and Green leaves next week, Murray is already making sure he has options in the wings and isn’t left in the lurch. “You never know what’s round the corner,” he said. “The water can be settled at one point. Then big daddy jumps in and there’s ripples and waves everywhere the next minute. You never know what’s going to happen. “I ‘ve always got contingencies. I have Plan B, Plan C, D, E, F and G. “At the minute our focus is on playing Orient and Matt Green is in the plans for Leyton Orient.” Murray explained why he went public with the news that Green was wanted elsewhere. He said: “We’ve only had one official bid and not too many other phone calls. So I am not saying there are 10 million clubs in for Matt. “We could have kept this under the radar and let it go, but I know what you guys (the media) are like and I keep getting asked about it. “It affects the players and it affects the group and I am not going to allow that to happen. “So the best thing to do was put it on the table. We had a bid for Matt Green. We turned it down and that’s it. Matt Green is not for sale. “A bid would have to be out of this world for someone to come and get him unless Matt didn’t want to be at the football club, obviously that would change everything again. “But the conversations I’ve had with him, he loves the football club, he loves the supporters, I think he likes me, he loves the team and he loves the way we do things. “He knows he is going to get a lot of goals this season. He knows we are going to create him a lot of opportunities to get goals.” ------------------- No new faces, despite early season injury worries biting hard for Stags by John Lomas, chad.co.uk, Monday 22 August 2016 With Chris Clements nursing a sore hamstring, Mansfield Town’s injury list is now up to five, but boss Adam Murray has no plans to further strengthen before next Wednesday’s transfer deadline. Murray’s small squad - and physio staff - is being tested to the full already with Danny Rose also out suspended, but the manager said: “ We have to ride the storm and we are riding the storm seventh in the league and joint third. So we are happy. “I don’t want to bring bodies in and then in two or three weeks we’ve got 26 or 27 bodies. Then the dynamics are not right. “This is part of the football season. These are part of the hurdles you have to ride. Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/no-new-faces-despite-early-season-injury-worries-biting-hard-for-stags-1-8082841 “Just because you get a couple in the nutcrackers and the nutcrackers are sore, you can’t just bring people into the building. It’s an easy option but it’s not the most effective option. “This is why we have squads and this is why we have multi-functional players. “We had a couple of the kids on the bench on Saturday which is why you have kids. “We know the season is going to be tough. We keep saying it, everybody this season thinks they can get in the play-offs. So it’s double tough. But sometimes double tough is good.” Defender Krystian Pearce and striker Pat Hoban are the closest to a return, keeper Scott Shearer is still recovering from concussion while midfielder Jack Thomas continues to struggle to shake off a groin strain. “It’s a tough one to take at the minute,” said Murray. “Last season we had a clean bill of health for large parts of the season. “This season early doors we have picked up a few annoying niggles and we are hoping possibly a couple will be ready to go this week. We’ll know more in the next couple of days. “It was good to get Hendo (Darius Henderson) on the pitch Saturday. That was invaluable for us. I think he showed what a big asset he will be. “We’ll have to see how Chris Clements is today. He had a bit of sore hamstring which would be a kick in the nutcrackers. “When we’ve got a full squad we have one of the strongest squads, I believe, in this league, be it small but strong. But at the minute we’re down to bare bones.” On keeper Shearer he said: “Scott is still feeling a bit groggy. I spoke to him last night and he has a check-up today. “These things, I’ve had a few of them, when you do get concussed it can be gone in four days, it can be seven days, sometimes they take up to two weeks. “He is a big player for us and you obviously miss your big players. At the moment we’re missing a few.” He added: “The next couple of days will be vital for Krystian, the same with Pat. I’d like to think that this week there’d be some big movements in that area. “Jack is a slow process. It is frustrating. We need him on the pitch. “Players like your Krystian Pearces, your Scott Shearers, your Jack Thomas’, your Pat Hobans, your Danny Roses - these are good players in League Two. “Don’t get me wrong, the boys that are in there at the minute are top quality players. They are doing a great job at the minute. “But to have the options of those type of players is always nice. “It gives the squad a lift when we get a full quota. “The physios are working hard and we can’t do any more than we are doing at the minute. “It’s about using the time to rest and recuperate and get the right amount of work in to try to get some bodies in the war zone.” -------------------- Murray hoping Plymouth defeat can inspire his side to greater heights by John Lomas, chad.co.uk Adam Murray intends to use the footballing lesson given to his Mansfield Town side at Plymouth last weekend as a positive. The Stags boss has analysed the DVD of the 2-0 defeat by Argyle and believes in the long term, it might prove to be a wake-up call for his players of where they are at and where they need to be. “Every defeat is horrible to take, but some defeats you learn a lot from and watching it back numerous times over the weekend there is a lot that I’ve taken from the game,” he said. “It’s disappointing to lose but sometimes you’ve got to give the opposition credit. For the first hour I thought they tore us another so-and-so. “When you’ve got players like (Graham) Carey on the pitch, being honest we couldn’t handle him. The two goals in such a short time killed the game for us. “They had two chances and were ruthless with them. Again the goals from our point of view were very sloppy. “I felt we came out second half a different team and caused all the problems and posed all the questions. “But first half I was disappointed, most in our defensive play.” He added: “I thought we just whacked it - I don’t know why. I don’t know what the thinking was behind that because it wasn’t in the game plan. It wasn’t in the build-up we’ve had for eight weeks. “We were playing a game of get it-give it away, and when you play against good teams you can’t do that. “I took loads of negatives out of the game that I’ve turned into positives. “It just shows that with the top teams in this league, when they do fire they are of a very good standard.” However, Murray hoped seeing how good Plymouth were in that first half-hour can inspire his own squad to reach those heights. “We are nowhere near where this group can be yet<” he said. “And sometimes you need that punch in the face to, one, wake you up, two, bring you back down the earth, and three, show you where you need to get to. “For that half-hour Plymouth were better than us, I’m not going to hide away from that. Whether that was us being poor or them being extraordinarily good I’m not sure. “But I think the double punch we took on the nose, you’ve go to take them and you’ve got to ride with them. If you learn from them it’s a positive. I think we will be stronger for that.” Few fans would have bet on Stags winning on a ground that has proved a jink to the club - and to the manager as a player - for many years. “It’s always been my worst place to go and, even though it’s a fantastic football club, I hate going there and I am glad it’s out the way,” admitted Murray. “It says it all that the club have only ever won there once. They are a very, very good team and they were in the position they were in last year, when they only just missed out on League One, for a reason. “They’ve lost a couple of players out of their side, but they’ve replaced them with just as good or better players. There are no excuses for Saturday. We were a shadow of what we can be about.” Read more at: http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/sport/local-sport/murray-hoping-plymouth-defeat-can-inspire-his-side-to-greater-heights-1-8084353? ------------------- Murray delighted with Stags’ first month by John Lomas, chad.co.uk Manager Adam Murray declared himself ‘over the moon’ with Mansfield Town’ start to the season and said anything gained from Saturday’s tough away trip to Leyton Orient would complete the first month’s League games in play-off form. Stags travel to London looking to bounce back from their first League defeat - a 2-0 loss at Plymouth Argyle last Saturday - and Murray said all the pressure would be on the O’s this weekend. “They can’t fail this season,” he said. “The position they are in as a club, they put a lot of resources into it. They are a big club and they have to go up this season. “These are two of the toughest away games and we get them out of the way early. “I think if we are fresh and we are on it we are good enough to beat anyone in this league. We have got to go there with that mindset. We’ve got to go there to win the game. Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/murray-delighted-with-stags-first-month-1-8084356? “I came back last Saturday and kicked myself a bit as we did go there to win. But at times, especially in that first half-hour, we were wide open. “That focus to go and win can sometimes leave you a little bit vulnerable. When you go to these big club you have got to be a little bit more secure in your thinking. But at the same time you have to pose a threat. “I was talking to their staff afterwards and we were saying what a bonkers league it it. I think it’s going to be 15 or 16 teams going for the top seven this year.” On the first month’s games, he added: “I’m over the moon. If we get something positive at Leyton Orient we are on play-off form. “We are chuffed to bits with the start we’ve had. We always knew Saturday (at Plymouth) was going to be a tough one and we’d have to be on our mettle. “In hindsight we’d have probably liked to have freshened it up a little bit more. “First half we didn’t come out the blocks and we looked like we were still walking off the pitch on Tuesday night (the home win over Yeovil with 10 men). There was always going to be a risk of that. That’s not an excuse, that’s fact. “Unfortunately we didn’t have the bodies in areas that we needed to be able to freshen it up. You ride it, you go through it.” Stags are currently enjoying a much-needed week without a midweek game. “The best part is being able to get back out on the training ground and work,” he said. “When you are playing Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, it doesn’t allow you to improve on the training ground which I think is key. “It’s the mental side of it more than anything - the ability to shut down from game mode for five days or seven days. “We’ll be back on the field this week and implementing some things, not just for Saturday but for the bigger picture as I still think there area areas we need to improve.” -------------------- twitter Simon Parker @ParkerTandA Monday 22 August 2016 Been told #bcafc interest in Mansfield striker Matt Green officially "dead in the water" Relaxed approach paying off for Bradford City thetelegraphandargus.co.uk, Simon Parker ... http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/14696478.Relaxed_approach_paying_off_for_Bradford_City/ Meanwhile, City have switched their attacking attentions elsewhere after Mansfield made it clear that target Matt Green will not leave. Stags boss Adam Murray confirmed they had rejected an offer from a "higher-division club" and said: "Unless there was a ridiculous bid coming in, then we obviously wouldn't sell Matt." --------------------- |
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