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Archived News from January 2017

EVANS, HOBAN AND STEPHEN ROBINSON REACTION
13th January 2017 14:47



Wembley prospect excites Stags' faithful
mansfieldtown.net, 10th January 2017

Stags’ boss Steve Evans says the club’s supporters are ‘entitled to dream’ after this evening’s 2-0 win over Oldham Athletic saw them progress into the quarter finals of the Checkatrade Trophy.

A brace of late headers from striker Pat Hoban ensured the Stags booked their place in the quarter finals of the competition by defeating League One side Oldham.

And with the Stags now just two games away from a potential Wembley final, the manager says all football fans should be allowed to dream of success.

“Any team can win it but football fans should always been allowed to dream. I think if you’re any supporter in the country you should be entitled to dream about what your team can achieve, that’s part of being a football supporter,” the Stags’ chief said.

“We can always dream and our supporters are entitled to go home saying we’re in the next round. I don’t really mind who we get as long as it’s at the One Call Stadium. I think if we’re at home, we seem to have a period in the game where we can lift it and tonight we did that.

Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/2016-17/wembley-prospect-excites-stags-faithful-3512857.aspx#C13yaZApZ1g75rGc.99

“Many people thought when we got Carlisle away we’d go out and of course we’ve beaten the team in the league above. They (Oldham) might be struggling a little bit in League One but they’re a team that’s probably not had the results that their recent performances deserve.”

Without being particularly pleased with his side’s performance against the Latics, the gaffer praised his players' workmanlike attitude against a defensive Oldham unit.

“I don’t think Stags’ fans would appreciate me coming out saying it was a good performance or a good cup tie - it wasn’t.

“It was a very workmanlike performance and what I said to the players there is we worked extremely hard and we were probably not as smart as I would like. But what I would say is from 7.45pm there was one team trying to win the cup tie and there was one team trying to go to penalty kicks.

“I think we got our rewards. I just said to the players: you got your rewards for trying to win the cup tie.”

The boss says they won’t know the extent of the injury suffered by defender Kyle Howkins until the morning but he commended the performance of fellow defender Rhys Bennett, who moved across to centre-half to cover for the substituted West Bromwich Albion loanee.

“We don’t know how Kyle will be until he wakes up tomorrow. We’ll worry about that going forward and if we need to go into the market if there’s something up with Kyle, then we will. We don’t think it’s too serious.

“I watched the kid (Rhys Bennett) at Rochdale at centre-half many times and he was outstanding and in fact, when he went in at centre-back tonight, I thought he was outstanding for the last 15 minutes.

“I’ve got to trust all my players. It’s a word that perhaps is often used in football and not really meant by the coaches but if you’re in this building, we have to trust you, we have to be able to put you on the pitch.

“I heard [a rumour] in the week that Jack Thomas was leaving but he’s come on to the pitch at a key time for us this evening and I thought he did really well.”

Supporters can view Steve Evans’ post-match interview, in full, on Stags PlayerHD.

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Stags fans can start to dream of Wembley says boss Evans
chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Tuesday 10 January 2017

Steve Evans said Mansfield Town supporters had every reason to start dreaming of a Wembley final as Mansfield Town booked their place in the Checkatrade Trophy quarter-finals tonight.

Two late Pat Hoban goals saw off struggling League One opponents Oldham Athletic at the One Call as Stags chalked up a third clean sheet in a row just four days before the big local derby at Notts County.

The Stags are now in the hat for Thursday’s draw alongside Wycombe, Swansea City Academy, Yeovil, Cheltenham, Coventry, Luton and Oxford and Evans said: “Any team can win it and football fans should always be allowed to dream.

“Any supporter in the country should be entitled to dream what your team can achieve - that’s part of being a football supporter.

Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/stags-fans-can-start-to-dream-of-wembley-says-boss-evans-1-8327544

“I dream that Celtic will win the Champions’ League.

“I don’t really mind who we get in the next round. I just want it to be at the One Call Stadium.

“I think if we are at home we seem to have a period in the game where we can lift it, and I think tonight we did that for seven or eight minutes and got two goals.”

It wasn’t the best of games, but Stags deserved their win.

“That was cup tie football and it’s very different to League football,” said Evans.

“I don’t think Stags fans would appreciate me saying it was a good performance or a good cup tie - it wasn’t. But it was a very workmanlike performance.

“We worked extremely hard but probably not as smart as I would have liked.

“But what I would say is that from 7.45 there was one team trying to win the cup tie and one team trying to go to penalty kicks. So I think we got our rewards for trying to win it.”

He added: “We go through to the next round, yet many people thought when we got Carlisle away we’d go out, and of course tonight we beat a team from the league above.

“They (Oldham) may be struggling a little bit yet they are a team that’s probably not had the results their recent performances have deserved.

“But I don’t think at any stage tonight they were on top of the game, just sporadic breakaways. Otherwise we’ve commanded the ball but not been smart enough with it.” On the two late goals, both created by James Baxendale, he added: “I think the first goal was a mistake from them but we took advantage, Paddy Hoban does well.

“The second one - the boy Baxendale has great quality and doesn’t show it often enough for us - and he is working hard to get there in terms of match fitness - I though his free kick and the header from Paddy Hoban were something you’d see at a higher level.

“So I am pleased for those two kids as they have been working hard to try to get into the team.

“We are trying to get boys who haven’t had much action some minutes on the pitch and fit enough to play in games. They have been a bit let down in the first half of the season.” The only downside of the night was seeing in-form centre half Kyle Howkins limp off in the second half.

“We don’t know how Kyle will be until tomorrow so we will await judgement on it,” said Evans.

“We will worry about that going forward and, if we need to go into the market if there is something up with Kyle we will. We don’t think it’s anything too serious. The tie attracted just 1,343 fans and Evans said: “Credit to the supporters who have come out tonight - it is a bitterly cold night. I know how tough it is and we appreciate every one of them.

“The players saw the reception they got at full-time, it was a good reception.”

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Irishman staying grounded after Oldham win
mansfieldtown.net, 10th January 2017

Mansfield Town match-winner Pat Hoban says it’s important to take each game as it comes after his brace sent Stags sailing through to the quarter finals of the Checkatrade Trophy.

The Irishman scored two headers in the space of seven second-half minutes to ensure Stags defeated their League One counterparts Oldham Athletic.

And the former Oxford United frontman says he's focussed on taking each game one at a time and will not get distracted by the allure of Wembley.

“It’s an old cliché but you have to take each game as it comes. I’m looking forward to the next round and seeing where it takes us,” Hoban said.

“I was there (at Wembley) twice last year with Grimsby and it’s a great occasion. Everyone will want to get there and I’d be lying if I said the lads didn’t want to get to Wembley. It’d be a great occasion but there’s still two games to go.”

Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/2016-17/irishman-staying-grounded-after-oldham-win-3512893.aspx#EbgFmVTiCDeWwwQI.99

After seeing his chances on the pitch limited in recent weeks, the 25-year-old was pleased to grab a brace on his return to the starting XI.

“It was great to get two goals, of course, but it was just good to get through a game like that.

“It’s good to get a run-out in the side again. There’s a lot of competition in there now, which is a good thing, so it keeps striving us on and making us better.

“[Competition] is what you want. There’s no point having no competition because you don’t get promoted or you don’t win things with that. It’s always good to have healthy competition.”

Hoban says his team-mates’ determination to keep fighting until the end typifies the mindset which manager Steve Evans is trying to instil in the players.

“We just kept going until the bitter end and I think that’s what the gaffer and Rayns (Paul Raynor) have been drilling into us: keep going, keep going, keep going! I think that just came into play today.

“It was a hard-fought performance and, especially defensively, I thought we [were] excellent.

“We’ve got three clean sheets now in a row and we want to keep that going into Saturday.

“With the gaffer adding quality into the squad, it definitely helps. All we can do is keep going forward and three wins on the bounce with clean sheets says where it’s at.”

Supporters can log in to Stags PlayerHD to view Pat Hoban’s post-match interview.

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Hero Hoban hoping on a return to Wembley with Mansfield
chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Tuesday 10 January 2017

Stags striker Pat Hoban is hoping for a Wembley return after going there twice in the space of eight days at the end of last season with Grimsby Town.

Hoban was part of the Mariners’ Conference play-off winning and FA Trophy final squads, getting on the pitch in the play-off final win over Forest Green.

Tonight his brace put Mansfield Town into the Checkatrade Trophy quarter-final hat and he smiled: “I was there twice last year with Grimsby and it is a great occasion.

“Everyone wants to get there. But there are still two games to go.

Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/hero-hoban-hoping-on-a-return-to-wembley-with-mansfield-1-8327556

“You have to take every game as it comes and we are now just looking forward to the next round and see where it takes us.”

He added: “It was great to get two goals of course but it was just good to get through a game like that. It was a hard-fought performance and, especially defensively, I thought we were excellent.

“That’s three clean sheets in a row now so let’s keep that going now on Saturday.

“We just kept going to the bitter end which is what the gaffer and Rayns (assistant Paul Raynor) have been drilling into us - just keep going.

“I think that just came into play tonight.”

With the arrival of Yoann Arquin, Hoban is facing a real battle to get into the first team with Matt Green and Danny Rose scoring regularly in recent weeks.

He said: “It’s good to get a run out in the side again. There is a lot of competition in there now, which is a good thing.

“It keeps driving us on and making us better. “There is no point having no competition. You don’t get promoted or win things without healthy competition.”

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Robinson Rues Missed Chances
oldhamathletic.co.uk

Manager Stephen Robinson rued his side’s missed chances last night as Latics exited the Checkatrade Trophy at the third round stage.

Darius Osei went closest to opening the scoring for Latics but was denied by a goal line clearance at the end of the first half.

Speaking about the game, Robinson said: “It’s the same story for us again, it’s five or six chances that we don’t put away.

“Ryan McLaughlin goes one on one, George [Edmundson] has a header, Clarkey has a header, Darius [Osei] has one cleared off the line from three or four yards and if you don’t take your chances then you are going to lose games.

Read more at http://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/robinson-rues-missed-chances-3513277.aspx#Qm4vTSgXf5FBIk7d.99

“Both goals were disappointing to concede, one from a free kick, we got outstrengthed which was poor, but the second half performance was very disappointing.”

Whilst the manager accepted the blame for the defeat, he admitted to letting players know of his disappointment after the game.

“I’ve told a few of them to look in the mirror but ultimately I will take the blame for it in every way,” he commented.

“People let themselves down tonight, let me down particularly as well, especially with their quality.

“It was a scrappy game, we don’t mind that if you win 1-0 but we lacked quality in the final third.

"We created chances but if you don’t score them you don’t win football matches. We can’t give up, we have to knuckle down.”

Gillingham visit SportsDirect.com Park on Saturday and the manager believes that is a huge game for his side.

“Every game has been massive for the last two or three months with the position that we are in,” he said.

“We have to pick ourselves up, we need to sign players and we need to get people in, I think it’s crying out for that and we can all see that.

“We need players to score goals, until we do that we are not going to win football games."

Watch the full interview on Latics PlayerHD.

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TWO DAYS LATER
CLUB STATEMENT: Managerial Change
Thu 12 Jan 2017
oldhamathletic.co.uk

Oldham Athletic can this afternoon confirm that Stephen Robinson has had his contract terminated and that John Sheridan has been appointed as the club’s new manager.

Chairman Simon Corney said: “This is obviously a difficult decision. Stephen is a talented coach who we believed could make the transition into a successful manager.

“Unfortunately things have not worked out for him or the club and we felt that a change needed to be made.

“I'd like to thank Stephen for the hard work and commitment he has shown and wish him well for the future.

Read more at http://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/club-statement-managerial-change-3515329.aspx#mFxhIsdHfqfUTh7y.99

"John is obviously someone we know well and we hope he can have an immediate effect on our current situation.”

The club will not be commenting further at this stage.

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Latest | January 2017