Archived News from December 2007
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Grimsby is a massive game - keeper Muggleton
CHAD.co.uk, by Stephen Thirkill, 14 Dec 2007 STAGS goalkeeper Carl Muggleton says basement boys Mansfield Town must knuckle down and work hard as they fight for their Football League lives. Bottom-of-the-table Mansfield, who hope to welcome Dan Martin, Jon D'Laryea and Nathan Arnold back from injury, face a crunch "relegation six-pointer" away to lowly Grimsby Town on Saturday. Underpressure Stags have yet to win away in the league this season and will be hoping to use their recent victory away to Harrogate Railway as a springboard to future away victories in League Two. Midfielder Lee Bell is certain to miss the game after undergoing a minor knee operation and Rory Boulding is doubtful after picking up a knee strain. Today shot-stopper Muggleton told Chad: "Saturday is a massive game for us, they are all big games now because of the position we are in. "We have to work hard and get as many points as we can, especially away from home. We have played well in games away this season, but we need to turn the performances into victories." And according to Muggleton, team confidence is still high despite the Field Mill Club's lowly league position. "We still believe we can get out of this situation, we believe we are good enough,"said Muggleton. "We have dragged ourselves out of the relegation zone once this season already and we now have to do that again." Being bottom hurts, admits captain Bucko CHAD.co.uk, by Stephen Thirkill, 13 Dec 2007 MANSFIELD Town captain Jake Buxton says his side will be going all out against Grimbsy Town on Saturday to bag a vital three points in their fight against relegation. Stags currently sit bottom of the League Two table two points behind nearest rivals Wrexham and Lincoln City and without an away win all season. But stalwart defender Buxton today told Chad the Field Mill team would be working hard to drag themselves away from the League Two drop zone. Said Buxton: "We have spent the last week training hard and preparing for the game and we will be going to Grimsby looking for three points. "Teams around us got results last weekend and we are now two games behind the other teams, which I think is the main reason why we are back in the bottom two. When we play those two games in hand we will move out of the bottom two. "Being at the bottom of the league hurts all the players and we have to work hard to drag ourselves up the table. We cannot feel sorry for ourselves and we must all fight as a club." Buxton added: "We are full of confidence that we can get the results we need. Our home form is good and it is critical that it stays like that in our current situation. "If we maintain our home record and get more away points then we will be ok. We have many games over the Christmas period and this is going to be a significant period and will shape the rest of our season. We will stay positive and look for three points on Saturday." 'Too long without first away league win', admits boss CHAD.co.uk, by Stephen Thirkill, 13 Dec 2007 MANSFIELD Town need to pick up more points on the road to help them successfully avoid relegation from the Football League, according to boss Billy Dearden. Stags face a crunch clash with basement rivals Grimsby Town on Saturday as they search for their first away win of their League Two campaign. Boss Dearden hopes to welcome back defender Dan Martin, who faces a fitness test tomorrow, and influential players Jon D'laryea and Nathan Arnold, who both trained today following injury. Today (Thursday) Dearden told Chad: "We are looking forward to the Grimsby game. They will be on a high after being Brentford last week and they are a better team than their league position suggests. "It is going to be a tough match, but we will be going there to get the result. We are down there at the moment and it is important we get the wins so we can climb the table as soon as possible. "It has been too long without our first away win of the season. We need to correct this soon and hopefully we can start by winning on Saturday. Stags are certain to be without midfielder Lee Bell, who is likely to be out of action for four weeks after he underwent a minor knee operation." Dearden said: "Lee Bell has done very well for us, we took a gamble on him and it paid off. He likes a good battle in midfield and has not let me down. "We will be without him, but Jon D'Laryea is back in contention for a place now. He has trained with us today and just needs to get some match practice under his belt. "If he feels right for the game then I would have no hesitation in putting him back in the team. Nathan Arnold has also trained with us today and hopefully Dan Martin will come through tomorrow." |
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