{ the news }
 
An independent supporters' website dedicated to Mansfield Town FC
Archived News from February 2017

EVANS, COULTHIRST, ROSSI EAMES REACTION
9th February 2017 12:11



Boss devotes Bees win to fans and owner
mansfieldtown.net, 4th February 2017

Stags’ boss Steve Evans has dedicated today’s 2-0 victory over Barnet to the club’s fans and hierarchy as his side stretched their unbeaten run to seven games.

Midfielder Ben Whiteman opened the scoring for the Stags with a cool first half finish, before striker Shaq Coulthirst won and scored a second half penalty, ensuring Stags moved to within two points of the play-off places.

And speaking post-match, the manager devoted the victory over the Bees to the excellent travelling support of 391 fans, as well as the chairman and chief executive following a successful transfer window which has seen eight players leave One Call Stadium and eight join the club.

“That win today is for the travelling Stags’ supporters and to our chairman and chief executive (John and Carolyn Radford), who have been absolutely to a toe with us," the Stags' boss said.

Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/2016-17/boss-devotes-bees-win-to-fans-and-owner-3556286.aspx#vqi1spx7FhCbgLMk.99

“They live and breathe it and perhaps the Stags’ fans don’t always see that because of the wealth of the people, but they live and breathe it and I can’t spend enough time talking to them because they’re infectious too.

“I came in here and all I said was we’ll be stronger when we come out of the transfer window than when we inherited it and I think there’s no doubt we are.

“It’s a long way to come, I’ll never, ever forget financially how tough it is and it was wonderful to see how many kids that were here today with the Mansfield shirts on as well because it means there’s a future generation of Stags’ fans.”

After seeing his well-organised side claim their fifth clean sheet in their last six league fixtures, the gaffer says the hard work on the training ground stands them in good stead to succeed when it comes to competitive fixtures.

“We don’t just turn up and take a chance - these boys are drilled day-in-day-out to work hard.

“I said to them: in the last ten minutes, we probably gave the opposition a couple of half-chances today to get back in the game and that’s not been like us in recent weeks.

“We get on the training ground every day and we demand a lot from the players in the week.

“We tell them they have their time when they come in and they’re having their rubs and their breakfast and that sort of stuff, but we have our time on the training ground and they have to listen and they have to learn.”

Deadline Day signings Alfie Potter and Alex MacDonald made cameo appearances towards the end of today’s victory and the Stags’ boss says the duo will work hard to improve their match fitness of the next few weeks.

“The boys have been left out of it for the best part of five or six weeks at their previous clubs and sometimes, mentally as well as physically, it takes you down a notch.

“That lies at the hands of Lee Taylor (fitness and rehabilitation coach) and Dan Kett (head physiotherapist), this is a team. It’s not just about the manager, this is a team of staff and they’ve got their programmes and the boys will be working really hard over the next two or three weeks.

“What I do know is when we get to the business side of the season, which is towards the end of February and into March and April, then both of these lads will be magnificent signings for us because the two of them are top, top players.”

Supporters will be able to view Steve Evans' post-match interview on Stags PlayerHD later this evening.

-------------------

Steve Evans: Mansfield Town manager 'loving' life with Stags
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38893612

Steve Evans says he is "loving" being Mansfield Town boss and has no regrets about dropping down to League Two.

Evans, who replaced Adam Murray as manager in November with the club in 18th, has taken the Stags to seventh and two points outside the play-offs.

The former Leeds United and Rotherham United boss said he had offers to manage at a higher level but was lured by the stability at Mansfield.

"I didn't want to go to a firefight," Evans, 54, told BBC Radio Nottingham.

"I wanted to go in somewhere that was really secure and somewhere that would back it. I am absolutely loving it."

Evans could have remained at Championship level and was also heavily linked with the then vacant managerial job at League One Charlton Athletic.

But he is convinced he made the correct decision despite dropping two divisions from his last role at Leeds.

Saturday's win over Barnet was their sixth in eight unbeaten matches since the 1-1 draw against Doncaster on New Year's Eve.

The Stags made eight signings in the January transfer window - something Evans said was vital if they wanted to challenge for promotion.

"We said we would organise the football club structurally and we needed support in the transfer window," he added.

"If we didn't change it in the transfer window we would probably be in a battle at the bottom. You are fortunate when a chairman gives you his blessing, but he also asked us to balance it.

"We have got eight in and eight out and probably levelled the money up from a business point of view. The chairman will be pleased because he has got a better product."

----------------------

Stags should have won by more at Barnet - Evans
chad.co.uk, Saturday 04 February 2017

Steve Evans believed his Mansfield Town side should have come away from Barnet with more than two goals to their name.

The Stags boss was delighted with his players for sealing three points at the Hive to move them up to eighth in the table - two points off the play-offs.

A first half strike from Ben Whiteman and then a second half penalty from Shaq Coulthirst proved enough in the end but Evans thought his side should have had more.

He said: “I’ve come off thinking ‘could it have been more?’ Yes - it should have been more.

Read more at: http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/sport/football/stags-should-have-won-by-more-at-barnet-evans-1-8371931

“We got a little bit sloppy towards the end and they’ve had a couple of half chances to get back into the game. That would have been disappointing because we should have been out of sight on 70 minutes.”

And added: “You have to earn the right to win. Football is very competitive at every level of the game, whether you’re in the Championship with Leeds or Rotherham in League One or Two.

“You have to earn the right and the teams at the top of every league earn the right every season.

“We’re playing a bit of catch up but we’re earning the right. We’re working extremely hard as a group. They’re working so hard during the week to get it right and if we keep working as hard as that we should win some games but we have to earn the right to win them.”

---------------------

Coulthirst praises team effort in Barnet win
mansfieldtown.net, 4th February 2017

Striker Shaquile Coulthirst says the Stags’ success at both ends of the pitch is a credit to every player following today's 2-0 victory over Barnet.

The Peterborough United loanee scored a second-half penalty to wrap up three excellent points for the Stags after midfielder Ben Whiteman had opened the scoring with a well-taken finish in the first half.

And the 22-year-old says the hard work of the Stags’ players has contributed to both keeping clean sheets and scoring goals during the current seven-match unbeaten run.

“It’s a credit to all of the pitch because I’m running and Danny Rose is running and everyone’s running together to be honest.

“The clean sheet comes from there and it’s the same when we score goals; it’s not just me or anyone else who scores, it’s the whole team who scores. That’s what we’ll celebrate together and that’s the main thing.

Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/2016-17/coulthirst-praises-team-effort-in-barnet-win-3556604.aspx#57yvf11K0HfxBm11.99

“Right now it’s going well for us, hopefully we keep winning games and keeping clean sheets and scoring goals.”

With five strikers all competing for a starting place in manager Steve Evans’ side, Coulthirst says the competition for a starting berth forces players to raise their game.

“The main thing for us is that we keep scoring goals and winning games. Competition is really important for us and you never know what’s going to happen.

“You never know if you’re going to start the next game so you’ve got to score goals and bring the performance up and I feel like for the last few weeks, we’ve been doing that.

“To be honest, I wanted to score every game, that was the plan. I didn’t score last week but I got Man-of-the-Match so I was pretty happy with that. I look to score as many as possible, every game I want to score.”

Coulthirst says that the current squad has the ability to break in to the Sky Bet League Two play-offs but they have to remain focussed on each game.

“[We can go] as high as we want really. I think we’ve got the quality in the dressing room - we’ve got fighters as you’ve seen today and last week and the week before since I’ve been here.

“We’ve got the quality so it’s just up to us how many games we can win and how many points we can get on the board.

“Play-offs are what we’re trying to get but if we take it game-by-game and not look too far ahead and just try to take it game-by-game and get three points after three points after three points and see where we end up at the end of the season.”

Finally, the former Tottenham Hotspur man dubbed the travelling support as ‘magnificent’ after experiencing a brilliant atmosphere at One Call Stadium last weekend.

“I said this last week against Leyton Orient, our home game - they were magnificent. I’ve played there before and the crowd’s been pretty loud but that was crazy what happened last week so I thought today they were pretty similar for the amount of fans there were.”

Supporters can view Shaq Coulthirst’s full interview on Stags PlayerHD.

--------------------

Rossi Eames: “We’ve got to be braver and take the tempo to the opposition."
barnetfc.com, 4th February 2017

Rossi Eames and Henry Newman reflect on Barnet's 2-0 loss to Mansfield Town in EFL League Two...

Rossi Eames lamented Barnet’s failure to dictate the tempo as the Bees went down 2-0 to in-form Mansfield Town at The Hive London.

Goals in either half from Ben Whiteman and Shaq Coulthirst - tucking home from the spot following a foul by Ricardo Santos - sealed three points for the Stags in a stop-start encounter littered with fouls.

Barnet’s best chances came via Nana Kyei, who blazed over following substitute Luke Coulson’s cut-back, and debutant Ruben Bover who rattled the woodwork with a stunning free-kick.

Speaking afterwards Eames said: “We’ve got to be braver, get the ball down and take the tempo to the opposition.

“Once you dictate the tempo of the game the game is yours. We didn’t do that today - at all.”

He added: “You can have all the possession in the world but the main thing is scoring the goals. We have to be more clinical, assertive with it and have more purpose. You can pass backwards and sideways all day but you have to break lines, get in behind and have more variation.”

The Bees joint head coaches had called for a fast start in the week but that did not come to fruition during a scrappy and disjointed first half.

Newman commented: “We did not start the game on the front foot which allowed them into the game.

“Our best performances this season have been when we’ve started on the front foot, got into the opposition when out of possession and dominated the ball in possession.

“We tried to change it in the second half, which gave us a little bit of impetus, and we changed the shape slightly.

“Our work out of possession was OK. Our work in possession was much better but we still didn’t create the number of chances we wanted to.”

Read more at http://www.barnetfc.com/news/article/2016-17/rossi-eames-weve-got-to-be-braver-and-take-the-tempo-to-the-opposition.-3556150.aspx#VSGtZkQO6cyPO4FK.99

----------------

Barnet remaining calm as play-off hopes dealt another blow by Mansfield
BY JONATHAN GIRLING, getwestlondon.co.uk

Barnet’s co-managers Henry Newman and Rossi Eames insist they are still focusing on their team only after they slipped up at home to Mansfield as they try and continue their playoff push.

http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/barnet-remaining-calm-play-hopes-12558179

The Stags now go above the Bees in the table but Newman believes that Barnet need to focus on training hard and consistency on match days and the results will follow.

The Bees co-manager said: “We’re trying to look at things a little bit bigger than just the teams around us and whether we are still in the mix or not”.

Barnet next face another side in contention to reach the playoffs as they travel to Colchester United next Saturday. The two sides are level on points with Colchester above the Bees on goal difference.

Newman added: “I haven’t seen the other results from today and to be honest I don’t care.

"What I care most about is that we train very well during the week, the players are in a good place and we we work very hard and we just have to make sure we can get that consistency into a match day and if we do that, the league position will follow.”

Newman said that he, Eames and the playing staff have set themselves their goal for the season and are determined to reach their target.

He said: “We’ve got a goal for this team so we’re focusing very much on reaching that goal ourselves.”

Asked what impact the loss to Mansfield would have on side’s season, the former Brentford and Charlton coach said: “It does have bearing yes, we’ve missed the chance for three points.”

Barnet were beaten in a game which never really got going as a well-organised Mansfield outfit stuck to the instructions given to them by Steve Evans.

Despite chances for Jamal Campbell-Ryce, Nana Kyei and John Akinde for the home team, Mansfield went ahead just before half time with a goal from Ben Whiteman before Shaq Coulthirst sealed the victory with a penalty midway through the second half.

Newman said: “There are certain things we expect from these players, and we need to start doing them from minute one, not minute 45 or 30. It is our job to get it right from now on and next week for Colchester.”

Without a win in four games following the 2-0 defeat in front of a crowd of nearly 2,000 at The Hive, Barnet now sit four points outside the playoffs and after Colchester they host Portsmouth, who currently occupy the final playoff position.

--------------------

twitter

Shaq Coulthirst @ShaqCoulthirst
Happy With Today's 3 Points, Buzzing To Get A Goal & Assist, On To Next Saturday Now... #Stags

Ben Whiteman @BenWhiteman17
Different class from the boys! Buzzing to score again, fans were unbelievable #stags

Rhys Bennett @RhysBeno91
Great result for the boys !! Congrats to @ShaqCoulthirst on his goal ! @BenWhiteman17 your on (fire) ! #somethingtellsmewereontosomethinggood

JAMIE MCGUIRE @JAMIEMCGUIRE23
Another 3 points great win were on the hunt ??! Congrats to @ShaqCoulthirst @BenWhiteman17 on there goals @mansfieldtownfc

--------------

 

Latest | February 2017