Archived News from March 2021
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CLOUGH ON FOREST GREEN AND PREVIEWS TRANMERE
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Nigel Clough frustrated by Mansfield Town's failure to have already guaranteed survival
chad.co.uk, By Stephen Thirkill, Wednesday 24th March 2021 Nigel Clough admits to feeling a sense of frustration that Mansfield Town have not officially yet sealed their League Two safety. The Stags gaffer wants to see his men hit the 50 point mark to end any lingering doubts over an unlikely relegation. “It is very frustrating to have dropped so many late points in the recent run of games,” he said. “Without the late points dropped, since Bolton, we would be over the 50 point mark. https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/nigel-clough-frustrated-by-mansfield-towns-failure-to-have-already-guaranteed-survival-3177161 “Any lingering doubts anyone has got would be gone. We want to dispel theM as soon as we can. “It would be nice to get to 50 points, but even with nine games to go and an 11 point gap, it means teams have to win four out of their last nine to make us play again. “We will not get complacent. The draws keep it ticking over and adding to the points, hopefully we will break the 50 points mark before long.” Stags have shown what they can do against top teams in recent games with wins over Cheltenham and Morecambe, as well as a battling draw against Forest Green. And they are matches which Clough and his players have been making plenty of notes from. “It is encouraging to see that we can compete with these teams,” said Clough. “We want to be up where they are and in the top seven, challenging for automatic promotion if we can. “We have a good look at these teams and have said to the players, this is where we want to be. We wish we were up there.” ---------------- Nigel Clough told iFollow Stags: "He [George Lapslie] has had a good training session this morning (Wednesday), so if he doesn't have a reaction we would hope he would be back in the squad on Saturday." ------------------ Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough feels football is one step nearer to normality after EFL records no positive COVID tests for the first time during latest round of testing. chad.co.uk, By Stephen Thirkill, Wednesday 24th March 2021 Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough believes football has taken a big step nearer normality. It follows news that the EFL recorded no positive COVID tests for the first time during their latest round of testing. The programme saw 5,524 players and staff from the 72 clubs tested. “It is good news for everyone in the EFL,” said Clough. “It shows how seriously clubs, staff and players have taken the situation and how serious we have been about sticking to the protocols. https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town-boss-nigel-clough-feels-football-is-one-step-nearer-to-normality-after-efl-records-no-positive-covid-tests-for-the-first-time-during-latest-round-of-testing-3177012 “It will be a great achievement to get the season finished on time. It has led to a busy and condensed fixture schedule, especially when you have games called off in January. “We've played nearly a third of the season in a month and a half. “We now have to try and get everyone vaccinated with their first vaccine before we come back for pre-season, that is the next stage. “We are one step nearer to a positive 7th August when the new season starts. We would like to see crowds, some percentage at least, back in the stadium.” Clough also admits he can’t wait for a relaxation of regulations to allow players to socialise properly once again. “We can’t wait to be able to eat together again, or not having to take two buses to away games,” he said. “It will be nice for the players to be together again. We have had to make chances, but nothing that we can’t reverse. I don’t think anything needs to become permanent. “We have managed to get to know each other quickly, but socialising does speed up the process.” ------------------------------ Khan's pre match Mansfield thoughts https://www.tranmererovers.co.uk/news/2021/march/khans-pre-match-mansfield-thoughts/ Otis Khan is taking it “each game as it comes” as Tranmere Rovers welcome Mansfield Town to Prenton Park on Saturday. Khan faces his former club this weekend when Keith Hill’s men host the Nottinghamshire outfit in Sky Bet League Two. Nigel Clough’s Stags will provide another challenge for Rovers, and Khan is focusing on the next game in front of them. Khan said: “We’re taking it each game as it comes really, and the recovery side is massive as we’ve been playing Saturday-Tuesday for a while now, and we’re doing all what we need to do in terms of the recovery at the club, there is a lot of detail behind it, and we’ve been grinding out the games and we’ll get the results. “We’re in the position now where everybody knows their roles and responsibilities in the team. With Saturday-Tuesday games there’s not a lot of work on the training ground, it’s mainly fine tuning the tactical side, so set pieces, shape and things like that, so everybody knows what they need to do, it’s just little tweaks here and there. “We’ve got leaders in abundance in our team, and we have to focus on each game as it comes, we know it will be tight and we have to put the performances in and the results will come, and everything else will fall into place. “We can’t get too excited and ahead of ourselves, so we have to focus. “I’m focused on the job at hand, and it’s focusing on what the team needs to be doing to get the result on Saturday.” Khan is enjoying his role at right-back, and he says that he has been learning from defensive partner Peter Clarke. He added: “I changed to a right-back under Keith Hill and I’m really enjoying it, and the way that the manager wants me to play, he wants me to get forward, but the defensive side, playing next to Clarkey and all of wealth of experience, I’ve been learning a lot from different players.” -------------------------- |
Latest | March 2021