Archived News from June 2003
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STAGS GET £50,000 LIFT FROM BIG CUP CLASH
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BY IAN WILKERSON, Evening Post, 26 June 2003
Mansfield Town today receive a £50,000 boost as their Carling Cup clash with Sunderland will be televised on Sky Sports. The Stags were handed the plum draw yesterday and Sky have elected to screen the game live from Field Mill on Wednesday, August 13. They are also showing Sheffield United's tie at Macclesfield the previous evening. It is the first time Stags have had a Sky game at home for more than three years. Their last appearance was their 4-2 FA Cup win against Team Bath in November. Manager Keith Curle said the presence of the TV cameras would be another boost from a tie that has already whetted his appetite. He said: "I think it is a magnificent draw for us because we are playing the best-supported club that can come in at this stage of the competition and being on TV is fantastic. "Obviously the main focus at the moment is the start of the league campaign a few days before but this is a great appetiser for the supporters. "The TV cameras always go to a game where they think there is a chance of a shock. "There certainly could be an upset and this game will be as good as any in the round. "I want Mansfield Town to have as high a profile as possible by being successful on the football field and this could be a great opportunity for us. "People talk about the league being 'bread and butter' but it is nice to have a bit of dessert now and then." The Stags returned to pre-season training this morning and no new faces were expected to be present. But Curle said he was not panicking, despite some of his Division Three rivals making inroads in the transfer market. He believes others may be joining training in the coming weeks but, at the moment, he is concentrating on the fitness of the players he already has available. He said: "Players still think that it is a market that suits them but things have changed. It is a buyers market at the moment and they will realise that in a couple of weeks. "Really, we are no different to anyone else because I have spoken to both players and agents to outline the situation we are in. "People are ringing me all the time and we will have to wait and see at the moment. "At the end of the day, there is no-one available that I am going to get out of bed for because the basis of the team I want is already here." ----------- STAGS' CUP TIE LIVE ON SKY CHAD website, 26 June 2003 MANSFIELD Town's first round Carling Cup tie against Mick McCarthy's Sunderland is to be televised live on Sky Sports. Because of the television commitment the match will be played on Wednesday, 13th August, and not on the Tuesday as would normally have been the case. Ticket and pricing details are to follow. The visit of the Sky TV cameras for the match will be the second on successive Wednesday evenings. For on the previous Wednesday, 6th August, Field Mill will host the FA Women's Community Shield in partnership with Nationwide, between top women's outfits Doncaster Belles and Fulham, and that match, too, is live on Sky Sports. Meanwhile, Stags players reported back for training this morning. |
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