Archived News from August 2021
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CLOUGH & OLLIE CLARKE PREVIEW SEASON
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‘Excitement’ in camp ahead of big kick-off - boss
mansfieldtown.net, Tuesday 3rd August 2021 Manager Nigel Clough says he feels ‘even more excited’ than usual ahead of the start of the 2021/22 campaign, which gets under way at home to Bristol Rovers on Saturday. The Stags welcome the Gas to One Call Stadium for a 3pm kick-off, a game that sees supporters return for a competitive fixture in NG18 for the first time in 540 days. Speaking ahead of the big kick-off, the boss revealed that Stags’ players ‘can’t wait to get started.’ “We’re excited,” he told iFollow Stags. “Everyone is looking forward to the season. I think we’re always excited with the anticipation of a new season, but with the way it’s been for the last 18 months, I think it’s even more so this year. “It’s always the same tingle of excitement [before a season] and you want to get off to a good start. https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2021/august/excitement-in-camp-ahead-of-big-kick-off---boss/ “The first game of the season is like a cup final really, so it’s important that we try to relax and play our football. “Seeing the lads in training on Monday and Tuesday, I don’t think they can wait to get started. “We’re very pleased with the players that have come in and we’re pleased with the way we finished last season as well - I think that’s important. “The new players have integrated well so far and the lads who were here and part of that good finish to the season have helped things along. “Pre-season was a bit disrupted early on when we lost those players who were isolating. But they have worked incredibly hard to catch up and most of the lads have got good minutes. “We’ve been very encouraged by what we’ve seen [in pre-season]. If the supporters see the determination and hard work being put in by a team and some good football as well, I think they’ll get right behind that and respond to that.” Looking ahead to Saturday’s clash, the manager revealed that he has a ‘pretty good idea’ of his starting lineup for the game, as well as providing a brief word on this weekend’s opponents. “We have a pretty good idea [of Saturday’s starting XI] but it’s not set in stone, as quite a bit can happen in that time,” he added. “That’s one of the things you look to establish in pre-season [best starting XI]. “Whatever team we start with, it could be a different team in a month or two months’ time, because that’s the nature of football. “[Bristol Rovers have done] a lot of good business. I don’t think they’ll be making any bones about what their ambitions are this season. They’ll be expected to and expecting themselves to challenge for promotion. “They have a manager with good experience now [Joey Barton] and the size of the club will demand that they are there or thereabouts. “I know we’ve sold a great number of season tickets and I think they [Bristol Rovers] will sell out their allocation, which is great as it will make for a good atmosphere. It’s a brilliant first game for us and hopefully the players can perform as they did at the end of last season.” With the season’s curtain-raiser just around the corner, Nigel Clough discussed the depth of his squad, and revealed that there may be more business to conduct ahead of the transfer window’s closure at the end of August. “I think if we could do a little more business with one or maybe two more coming in, with one or two maybe going out, I think that would be good. “We’ll be looking to do that in the next four weeks, but if we don’t, we’re very happy with what we’ve got in place. “I think we’re a defender light for some cover, which we’ve spoken about in the last few weeks, but we’re pleased with the ones we’ve got. “We’re most excited about the front six or seven players that we’ve got. I think we have an exciting forward line and we’ll be set up to attack and to score goals. The emphasis will be on that. “All of the players have something different to offer, which is very important and exciting.” The boss also provided an injury update on midfielder Harry Charsley, who will miss Saturday’s big match. “Harry Charsley is the only one [out for the game], as he has a thigh problem. So he’ll definitely be missing. “He’ll probably be about another ten days to two weeks, something like that. He’s had some bad luck over the summer with injuries and whatnot. “He’s the only one that’s definitely out. Everybody else, we hope will be available.” iFollow Stags subscribers can watch the manager’s interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow. Tickets are on sale now for Saturday’s big kick-off, and can be purchased online via stagstickets.co.uk. -------------------------- Clough was asked by Jake Garner if Michael Dawson has been training with Mansfield: Clough: “I’ve been in training every day this past week and I haven’t seen him!” ------------------------- Nigel Clough keen for Mansfield Town to hit the ground running chad.co.uk, By Stephen Thirkill, Tuesday 3rd August 2021 Nigel Clough is keen for Mansfield Town to get off to a flying start. Stags open up the new League Two campaign against Bristol Rovers on Saturday in front of a packed One Call Stadium. And Clough is desperate to avoid last season’s poor start which eventually cost Graham Coughlan his job. “It's important to get off to a good start,” said Clough. “We were up against it last season and we could never realistically challenge the top seven over a long enough period. https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/nigel-clough-keen-for-mansfield-town-to-hit-the-ground-running-3332883 “You can't win it in the first few months but you can give yourself too much to do. If you get off to a good start the crowd gets behind you. “We want to carry on where we left off last season. We played some great football and scored some great goals. “We want our play to be of the same standard. We are looking forward to the whole season and are all excited. “There's plenty to be excited about. We have been encouraged by how we have played in the last two week. “We got what we wanted out of pre-season.” Stags start with one of the tougher matches of the season against a Rovers side who are also gunning for promotion. “We saw Bristol Rovers last Saturday and they changed their formation at half-time, so it is difficult to read into what they will do,” added Clough. “It is good to be at home against one of the promotion favourites in the first game. They will be very strong and they will be up there. They will be a good gauge of where we are at.” The Stags chief now wants his side to hit the ground running and give the returning plenty to cheer about. “The fans have got a big part to play, but we have to give them something to get behind us,” said Clough. “There will be a lot of excitement, but that can easily dwindle. The team has to give the crowd something. “We got a taste of the atmosphere against Coventry and it will be great to walk out to the noise. “Bristol Rovers will sell out their allocation, which makes for a good atmosphere. We had forgotten what it was like to play in front of crowds and it was a nice reminder against Coventry.” -------------------- Squad can’t wait to ‘experience atmosphere’ - captain mansfieldtown.net Skipper Ollie Clarke says the Stags are ‘buzzing to get going’ and ‘experience the atmosphere’ in Saturday’s big kick-off at home to Bristol Rovers. Along with fans returning for a competitive fixture at One Call Stadium for the first time in 540 days, this weekend’s match will be even more meaningful for Clarke, who joined Bristol Rovers as a 13-year-old, leaving for the Stags only last year. The 29-year-old spoke of his 15 years with the Gas, along with the squad’s excitement to play a Sky Bet League Two fixture in front of a home crowd. https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2021/august/squad-cant-wait-to-experience-atmosphere---captain/ “Even seeing a couple of thousand [fans] at the Coventry game, the noise and the Stags’ fans getting behind us was a really nice feeling. It really gets you going for a game,” he told iFollow Stags. “The lads are buzzing to get going on Saturday and experience the atmosphere properly. “I had a funny feeling that we would play them [Bristol Rovers] early on. I just want to experience it and get stuck right in. “I had great times there and really enjoyed playing there, but I’m now a player at Mansfield Town and I’m going to be looking for three points on Saturday. “Over the years I contributed well [at Bristol Rovers] and left the club as the captain. I’m here now and I’m looking forward to playing against them, and trying to win the game for Mansfield. “It was a massive decision to leave, but it was at a time in my career where I thought a change was needed. I’m really pleased that I went to try something new, as the setup here and the lads are brilliant. “I come here to work everyday and look forward to it. It’s a great place to be and I’ve really enjoyed the move.” Reflecting on his ‘toughest’ pre-season to date, the midfielder says he feels the ‘fittest’ he’s been ‘in a long time,’ as we approach the campaign’s curtain-raiser. “Everything that we’ve built together as a squad and a club, it’s looking positive here,” he added. “The pre-season that we’ve had under the gaffer [Nigel Clough] has probably been the toughest I’ve done. “I’m really looking forward to the season, as personally, it’s probably the fittest I’ve been in a long, long time. “We had a programme over the off-season, so when we came back, we were ready to hit the ground running. “The gaffer likes to test us, and as a group that brings you together, as you all drive each other on and know you have to push through it. “It has been a really positive pre-season. I didn’t have a great deal of minutes under my belt going into the [2020/21] season and I think that hampered me in the long run. “It’s important to get that level of fitness up, so when the games do come thick and fast, you can recover quicker. “As a group, everyone is really fit now and ready to hit the ground running. We know what we want to achieve and we have to go out there and work week-by-week to get to where we want to be. “Over the pre-season games, we’ve done really well. It will take a lot of grit and determination [to be successful this season]. “We need to be organised, we need to be ruthless in both areas and we need to try and be positive with the ball. That’s the way the manager likes us to play.” Looking ahead to the season as a whole, the skipper outlined his targets and the team’s targets for the upcoming campaign. “Personally, I want to have as possible a season as possible. I want to contribute as many goals and assists as I can. “But also, I just want to be consistent in my performances and play as many games as possible during the season. “Last season I had two or three little injuries and knocks that kept me out for three to four weeks at a time, which was disruptive to my season. “As a team, we have to be as positive as possible. We need to build towards that [top] end of the table.” iFollow Stags subscribers can watch Ollie’s interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow. Tickets for Saturday's match at home to Bristol Rovers can be purchased by heading to stagstickets.co.uk. ------------------------- |
Latest | August 2021