Archived News from March 2018
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FLITCROFT AND MARK COOPER REACTION
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Stags boss will galvanize spirit after loss
mansfieldtown.net, 24 March 2018 Mansfield Town manager David Flitcroft says he will galvanize the Stags' spirit ahead of a massive Easter double header. The new boss oversaw a first defeat in charge this afternoon following a disappointing 2-0 loss at Forest Green Rovers. Quickly on the horizon, Stags face a huge Easter weekend, hosting promotion rivals Accrington Stanley on Good Friday before a trip to Luton Town on Easter Monday. Speaking after today's 2-0 loss at The Lawn in a poor showing for the amber and blue, the manager said: "We will make sure all the squad are on the same page. We will re-group them. We will galvanize our spirit and know the task we are in for. "We will make sure the squad we pick is representative of Mansfield Town and are as passionate as our supporters and me as a person The players can only achieve if we're together and I'll make sure we are." https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2018/march/stags-boss-will-galvanize-spirit-after-loss/ Commenting on the match in Gloucestershire, he said: "Disappointment is probably not a strong enough word to use. "In the first half we huffed and puffed. We had some decent forward play, the movement was good and then we got into the last third and didn't really lay a glove on them. "We didn't get enough shots on target it and there was no real impact or purpose to our work. "I never felt threatened in the first half by the Forest Green team. [For] The second half, we asked the players to show more of an urgency, potency and purpose. It just didn't transpire. "I was disappointed for our supporters. We missed out on three tackles close to our supporters. If you get that right, get your tackles and have a desire to what you do and lay a glove on them then you've got a very good chance of winning any football match. "Ruben Reid and (Tahvon) Campbell [Forest Green Rovers' forwards] dominated us all afternoon. I was disappointed that we didn't have the same impact on their back four, "The supporters came down in numbers for us today and that second half was unacceptable. "We have to play with a forward momentum and we didn't do that in the second half. The energy and desire not to be beaten is something I will 100% instill into this group." Meanwhile, leading goalscorer Danny Rose may have ligament damage after being forced off because of an injury sustained in the first 30 seconds of the match. The manager, however, revealed that Rose will be assessed tomorrow and should know more about his injury status within the next 48 hours. -------------------- Flitcroft blasts players after ‘unacceptable’ second half in defeat chad.co.uk, Saturday 24 March 2018 David Flitcroft declared Mansfield Town’s second showing ‘unacceptable’ in today’s nightmare 2-0 defeat at struggling Forest Green Rovers. Stags lost ground on the top three after a tame surrender to two second half goals at the New Lawn where they also lost top scorer Danny Rose to injury and skipper Krystian Pearce to a red card for two bookable offences. Flitcroft said: “I was disappointed for our supporters. Supporters came down in numbers today and that second half was unacceptable. READ THE FULL MATCH REPORT “When the goal went in I could see the energy sap from the players. I’ve not seen that before while I’ve been here. “Disappointing is probably not a strong enough word to use. “I thought first half we huffed and puffed and had some decent sort of forward play and link-up play. Our movement was good. “But once we got in the last third we didn’t really lay a glove on them. We didn’t make enough impact on them and didn’t get enough shots on target to really hurt them.” He added: “I never felt threatened in the first half by Forest Green. “We asked the players to show more urgency in the second half and play with more of a purpose and it just didn’t transpire. “Reid and Campbell dominated us all afternoon. “We said before the game it was an academy keeper in goal and we need to get shots in and be aggressive with out crosses. But they were floated in.” The manager was particularly unhappy with the second 45 minutes, saying: “The second half is nothing I believe in as a person. “That energy and desire not to be beaten is something I will instil in this group 100 per cent.” On the Rose injury, he said: “It was a blow to see Danny come off as he was fundamental to the 4-3-3 we’d worked on. “It is potential ligament damage. He has rocked it. His foot stayed in the turf and gone over. “Hopefully the weight of force won’t have made the injury severe. “We will let it settle down tomorrow and get an early assessment done on it.” Stags now face a huge Easter with games against top two sides Accrington and Luton and Flitcroft said: “We now have to regroup and make sure all the squad are on the same page. “We have to galvanise that spirit and make sure that they know the task they are in for. “The players can only achieve if we are together and I will make sure we are.” Read more at: https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/flitcroft-blasts-players-after-unacceptable-second-half-in-defeat-1-9081220 -------------------- Mark Cooper pleased with 'big' three points by Ashley Loveridge, stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk FOREST GREEN boss Mark Cooper says his side's 2-0 victory over Mansfield Town was a "big" three points in their hopes to avoid a relegation scrap towards the end of the season. Rovers are now nine points above the bottom two with just seven games to play after putting a dent in Mansfield's promotion hopes. “ It was good that we responded from a poor performance the other night at Crewe and it was important we bounced back and we did it and we looked really organised and worked hard,” said Cooper. http://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/sport/16114501.Forest_Green_2_0__Mansfield_Town__Mark_Cooper_pleased_with__big__three_points/ “We looked really professional and not in any real trouble, a really big three points for us today.” Reuben Reid opened the scoring after 55 minutes with his 13th goal of the season before Dayle Grubb sealed the victory with 12 minutes to play, fizzing home his 21st goal of the season and his fourth since his January move from Weston. Cooper added: “It was a great performance, great result and much needed. I think it settles everybody down a bit and I was really pleased with the effort of the squad, “People forget our home form is really good. We lost to Notts County last time here but other than that we’ve won four or five-straight games and that’s another one. We always fancy our chance of getting a result and we have to compete and fight against a really physical side with a lot of quality.” Although his side were under pressure towards the end of the first-half, Cooper was pleased with the hard-fought second period. “The message at half-time was to keep switching the ball and getting our midfielders wide so we could manoeuvre the ball into Reuben Reid and Tahv Campbell. And that’s where most of the opportunities came from,” he explained. “It’s difficult to make sure you play open, attractive, free-flowing football so sometimes it has to be the last 20 minutes when you’ve done the hard work that you get to create chances. “It’s key that we show our teeth and show we can compete against the really big clubs in this league,” stated Cooper. “Today is the first time that we’ve beaten a top three or four side and it should give us confidence going into the last seven games. “At this point in the season bit teams are chasing points for different reason, they’re chasing promotion and we’re trying to stay in the Football League in our maiden season.” ---------- |
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