Archived News from January 2008
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DEARDEN ON TRANSFERS
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Dearden told the Evening Post: "People are asking why we haven't brought in new faces and I could do it straight away if I wanted. But the point is that it is no use doing that if the players who come in don't improve the team. The ones I am chasing will do that but I have been let down on a couple of players over the last 48 hours, although things are still ongoing. I am fed up of saying it, but that's the situation. Things have been agreed but then the clubs are reluctant to let players go until they have their own replacements. There are still a couple of deals in the pipeline but if they don't materialise quickly then I might have to look elsewhere. Three weeks ago the deals would probably have gone through but we couldn't bring them in until January. Then the injury situations change at other clubs. I was hoping to have at least one player signed to train with us yesterday but it hasn't happened. It annoys and disappoints me. I don't think there is any money to spend on transfer fees, say £50,000 or £60,000 on a player. The money that has been generated by the cup run has gone into the club. There is money available for a couple of players' wages if I take them on loan but that's about it. There are good players I would and could have brought in on 18-month contracts, and bringing them in would lift the lads who are here and I want to agree new contracts with for next season. But that is on hold at the moment because we don't know which way we are going next season." Full interview and story at http://www.thisismansfieldtown.co.uk, 11 Jan 2008 ----------------- Dearden transfers remain on hold CHAD.co.uk, 10Jan2008 BILLY Dearden continues to be frustrated in his efforts to strengthen the wafer-thin Mansfield town squad ahead of Saturday's crucial game at Chester City (3pm). He is still being kept on hold by two clubs over players they have agreed to loan him and admitted his patience is being exhausted and he may have to look elsewhere. Dearden also admitted he would rather be spending a small fee and bringing in full time players on 18 month deals with one eye on next season than dealing only with loans. "It is so frustrating at the moment," he said. "Things will happen – it's just a question of when. But if they don't materialise very quickly then I will have to look elsewhere. "The deals are still ongoing but I am fed up of saying that now. Both are loan players. I have been told there is money available to me for wages for loan players but I don't think there is any money available if I wanted to spend fifty or sixty grand on a player. "We have made a lot of money from the FA Cup run but I realise the club has to keep going and that money has gone into the club so my hands are tied to an extent. "I am trying like hell to get players in and over-turning every stone. It is not easy attracting players to a club in our position. "I would like to bring in players on 18 month contracts which would give them a lift and also help me with one or two players we already have who I would like to talk about contracts next year. "I am looking at midfield and up front at the moment as if I brought in a centre half as cover it would probably only be for the one game at Chester as I expect to have Jake Buxton, Alex John-Baptiste and Martin McIntosh all available the following week and I have been quite happy with my back four until the recent injuries." Skipper Jake Buxton misses Saturday's game - Stags' seventh in 21 days - at Chester with a one match ban. But Dearden is hoping Martin McIntosh and Rory Boulding can prove their fitness in training today and tomorrow after returning from injury to bolster a squad that will also welcome back Matt Hamshaw after he missed the midweek home defeat by Wycombe to be with his new-born baby and wife. Stags were hammered 4-0 in that one, just four days after a superb FA Cup win at Brighton and Dearden said: "We gave away three bad goals and the lads know it. "Without making excuses, we have played a lot of games recently and I think it looked like it was catching up with one or two of them on Tuesday. "Chester will be a very difficult game. They scored three away at Accrington last week and they have brought in one or two players. "But we have just beaten a very good Brighton team away from home and must take the positives from that into this one and get our first away Leaguewin of the season. "With one or two additions, I think we have enough in this squad to get away from this dogfight we are in and a couple of signings will lift everyone. "There are one or two other clubs down there as bad as us and hopefully we can get cracking and start putting a run together. "I don't feel under pressure as a manager. I came back here last year to keep us up which I did and was persuaded to stay on another 12 months. "Sometimes you look back and wonder if you did the right thing. But I love it here and I will get us out of this mess we are in with the help of the players and staff." After an excellent run of form, Chester have just arrested a sudden run of three defeats with a 3-3 draw at Accrington. Their home form has not been the best all season, though away form has been excellent and they sit ninth in League Two, four points off the Play-off spots. 'Dearden the right man for the job' CHAD.co.uk, 10Jan2008 STAGS boss Billy Dearden has been given a vote of confidence by the club's chief executive Stephen Booth. With Mansfield Town firmly entrenched in the relegation zone from the Football League after five defeats in six League matches - despite a terrific run to the Fourth Round of the FA Cup - some fans have called for the manager to be sacked. But Mr Booth, who said Dearden was the right man for the job when he took over in December, has again backed the boss. He said: "Changing things now is not the solution." When he was appointed, the new chief executive told Chad: "I have no intention of interfering with the footballing side of the club at all. Billy Dearden is the right man for the job." The Stags have won just four League matches this season and are currently five points from safety, though they do have matches in hand on some of their relegation rivals. Mr Booth added: "Billy was last week given a figure for funds to add to the squad and he is working hard on this." Dearden has been struggling to bring in new faces, though he says there are deals lined up for players once they are released by their current clubs. After the Stags were drawn against Middlesborough in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup and received a £150,000 windfall from live TV coverage, Mr Booth told Chad: "I would be prepared to speculate and give some of the money to the manager ahead of the tie as the match itself is only just before the transfer window closes." But on Tuesday evening, after the 4-0 home defeat by Wycombe Wanderers, Dearden said: "I don't know what money I have - it's up to those higher up the ladder. I have been told what I can spend on wages but if I needed to spend £50,000 on a player that will find out what money I can have." ----------------- Booth told the Evening Post: "I'm happy with the job Billy is doing. Changing things is not the long-term solution. He is confident he can turn it around and has been given funds to add to the squad and he is very much on the case. It is a small squad and we are looking to add to it - hopefully over the next couple of days." Booth added about the game against Wycombe: "I think it was a game too far for some of the younger players." Full story at http://www.thisismansfieldtown.co.uk ----------------- Lee Bell - knows all about relegation battles. CHAD.co.uk, 10Jan2008 Stags midfielder Lee Bell knows all about the heartbreak and ecstasy of losing and winning relegation battles – and is confident Stags will win their current one. Bell has just recovered from a knee operation to return to a side five points adrift of safety. "I have been through it all before," he said. "I was relegated to League One in my first season at Crewe and I can assure you it is not a nice feeling. "But also at Crewe we were eight points adrift in the Championship at exactly this time of the season and the manager decided to completely revamp the team and changed everything. "Of course he had a bigger squad and the money to bring in players. But we go out of it and so can Mansfield. "We have a couple of games in hand over some of the other sides down there and if we can win those we will be out of it. "If we can win seven games we will be halfway up the table. "To do that we will need to get our best 11 or our best 16 players fit week in week out which I know we can do." He added: "Mansfield is one of the bigger clubs in this league so it is not nice to see our club like this. "We need everyone – players, supporters, the press, to be positive. It is so easy to just pick up on the negative things. "I would ask the fans to give us a real go for the next six games and get behind us. If we all stick together then I am sure we will get out of trouble." Bell came on as a substitute in last weekend's fine 2-1 win at Brighton but was astonished at the midweek 4-0 defeat by Wycombe. "That has been the case all season," he said. "We play well in one game and poorly in the next. It is something we need to address quickly and find some consistency. "I know it sounds stupid when you've lost 4-0 but we sat and watched a video of the Wycombe game and we were the better team. It wasn't a 4-0 game and I am sure neutrals watching would have said Mansfield should have gone on to win it. "It was very hard work in those conditions and Wycombe handled them a bit better than us. But they also had more than a couple of lucky breaks which we are missing at the moment. "A first away win of the season at Chester on Saturday would be great. They spent a few quid in the summer but are having a bit of a blip at the moment. "Any kind of result there would be positive. If we go out there and try to make sure we don't lose games then we can start turning those draws into wins and it goes on from there. And hopefully teams around us will be slipping up." CHAD VIDEO: Mullins to lead struggling Stags at Chester CHAD.co.uk, 10Jan2008 MANSFIELD Town defender John Mullins looks set to captain Stags at Chester on Saturday following Tuesday's 4-0 hammering by Wycombe Wanderings. Speaking to Chad sports editor John Lomas this morning, Mullins admitted the side had underperformed but said the team was still hoping on a win this weekend. Video here ---> http://www.chad.co.uk/stags/Derby-tickets-go-on-sale.3660411.jp Lincoln tickets go on sale CHAD.co.uk, 10Jan2008 TICKETS are on sale for the Stags' trip to local rivals Lincoln City later this month. Pre-buying your ticket for the match - at Sincil Bank on Tuesday 29th January - at the Field Mill ticket office will save you £2 off adult admission and £1 off concessions. Go to the club's official website mansfieldtown.net for details. |
Latest | January 2008