Archived News from March 2008
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HOLLAND APPOINTED UNTIL END OF THE SEASON
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25Mar2008
Audio interviews with Paul Holland and Stephen Booth from Radio Nottingham, here To listen to the full "Drive" program on Radio Nottingham with David Jackson, visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham and follow the links to "listen again" ---------------- Audio interview with Paul Holland from mansfieldtown.net, here and here --------------- Holland named Mansfield manager BBC.co.uk, 25Mar 2008 Mansfield Town have named Paul Holland as their new manager until the end of the season. Holland, 34, was originally appointed caretaker boss of the League Two strugglers following Billy Dearden's departure earlier this month. The Stags have won just one of their four games under Holland. But chief executive Stephen Booth told the club's website: "We have had three good performances under Paul's reign and I am confident in his abilities." Holland has stated that he would love the job on a permanent basis but his chances appeared slim following two defeats over the Easter period. Those losses against Grimsby and Bury have kept the Stags in the relegation zone, seven points adrift of safety with just eight games remaining. Holland told BBC Radio Nottingham: "I'm not writing the team off I still think we can get of trouble." You can hear Paul Holland on BBC Radio Nottingham's Drivetime show after 1700 GMT. --------------- skysports.com Stags stick with Holland Holland handed short-term deal Last updated: 25th March 2008 Mansfield Town have appointed Paul Holland as their manager until the end of the season. Holland was originally appointed caretaker boss of The Stags following Billy Dearden's departure earlier this month. The 34-year-old has done enough to be handed the job on a permanent basis despite only guiding the side to one win in his four games in charge. The Stags are seven points adrift of safety near the foot of League Two, but Mansfield chief executive Stephen Booth believes Holland is the right man to lead the club. "We've had three good performances out of four matches under Paul's reign and I have thought long and hard about this decision," Booth told the club's official website. "I am confident in Paul's abilities and hope that everyone associated with the club can get behind him." ------------------ Holland confirmed as Stags boss - and sets points target By John Lomas and Tim Morriss, CHAD.co.uk, 25Mar08 PAUL Holland has been confirmed as Mansfield Town boss for the rest of the season. Stags' chief executive Stephen Booth made the announcement on Tuesday morning. Holland's first three games in charge produced three much improved performances, though yielded only one win. And his future was then in doubt yesterday after a poor display in a 2-0 defeat at Bury that has left them seven points adrift. But Booth has decided to go with Holland as a replacement for Billy Dearden for the rest of the relegation battle and not to bring in someone new at this crucial stage. Full story ---> http://www.chad.co.uk/stags/Holland-confirmed-as-boss.3910435.jp He told Chad: "We have had three good performances under Paul, even though yesterday (Easter Monday at Bury) was disappointing. "Now is not the time for upheaval. Paul Holland has got the players behind him. "They have given him a vote of confidence, I have given them a vote of confidence . . . let's hope this vote of confidence is worthwhile." A delegation of senior players, led by captain Jake Buxton, had helped to persuade the chief executive to extend Holland's caretaker role over the Easter weekend. Booth - who it is thought had been considering brining in former York City manager and Derby County coach Billy McEwan - added: "I thought about this hard overnight . . . in fact, I have been thinking about this almost non-stop for two weeks. "I just think that now is the time for continuity and placing faith in Paul. "We have eight games left to save ourselves and they are all winnable games. "We still have every chance of escaping relegation. People should be thinking of that and not relegation. "It is time for everyone to pull together and put their faith in Paul (Holland) and the players." The chief executive added that he did not rule out further players coming to Field Mill before the loan signing deadline on Thursday. Holland told Chad on Tuesday: "I believe we need a minimum of 12 points from our last eight games so this is where our season starts. "From the next three games we need to get a minimum of seven points. We are under no illusions it will be easy, but I have told the players it is now time to stand up and be counted. We have to start getting points on the board. "Their performance at Bury was not good enough and I told them in no uncertain terms. But if we had put in three decent performances followed by a bad one throughout every four games this season then we wouldn't be in our situation. "The Bury game was very depressing – we were nowhere near good enough. But I am positive we can bounce back. "I am confident I can be the person to keep the club up. I would not have put myself up to be shot at if I thought we had gone a bridge too far already. "I am not stupid enough to say we are going to win all eight games we have left. But if you look at each game on its game you can make a case for us winning it if we are right and we prepare right. "I didn't know what to expect with the job after Bury. I had a phone call on Monday evening which wasn't really conclusive one way or the other and then I got a call this morning to tell me I had the job until the end of the season, which was a relief. "I will be going out to games and I have been told I can bring more players in. But realistically the squad we have is likely to be the one that has to do the job and we are up for it." Holland (34) - previously Dearden's assistant and also a caretaker boss once before - has a long association with the Stags going back to his time as a junior at the club. Rising through the youth team ranks, he made his debut aged just 17. In his first full season the Stags won promotion. He had four years at Field Mill from 1991-95, making a total of 183 appearances and scoring 29 goals in all competitions. Then came a £250,000 move to Sheffield United and spells at Chesterfield and Bristol City, before injury cut short his playing career in 2002. 'Dutch' then returned to Field Mill as youth team coach when Stuart Watkiss took over the managerial reins from Billy Dearden on the way to promotion from Division III that season. --------------------- |
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