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Archived News from December 2008

STALLARD AND ARNOLD REACTION
30th December 2008 18:23


Mark Stallard interview from BBC Radio Nottingham here

Nathan Arnold video interview from BBC Radio Nottingham and Evening Post - freeview from StagsWorld here

Nathan Arnold is interviewed by David Jackson after the game. Photo by Martin Shaw

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Arnold: Stags can still mount a play-off push
Evening Post
Nathan Arnold believes resurgent Mansfield Town are capable of putting together a play-off push in the second half of the season.
"We have always known we were good players and it has just been a case of going out on the pitch and proving it," said Arnold.
"I think the problems have mainly be down to confidence. Full interview here.

"We have always known we were good players and it has just been a case of going out on the pitch and proving it," said Arnold.

"I think the problems have mainly be down to confidence.

"I don't want to sound like I'm getting carried away after two wins in our last two games, but we said at the start of the season we should be aiming at the play-offs.

"It is a good club and we have good players and if we can carry on showing what we have been doing we can push on up the table and do it. We could have gone under when it went 1-1 but we showed desire and our quality came through in the end."

The win at Rockingham Road was the Stags' first on their travels since they were victorious at Salisbury in September.

Arnold added: "I can't remember the last time we won an away game so to get it here was great. We had the same feeling we had when we beat Weymouth at home and we took advantage of it. Hopefully we can take what we have done here and take it into the Burton game and carry on picking up the points."


Stallard: Stags' victory at kettering so important
Mark Stallard believes Mansfield's 3-1 victory at Kettering could rank as their best performance of the season.The Stags have often played well in spells but have struggled to put it together for the duration of a match.

But the visitors played well throughout at Rockingham Road to record their second away victory of the season.

It was also the first time since the early weeks of 2008-2009 that Mansfield have won successive games.

"You would have to put that down as one of the best performances we have put together at what is a difficult place to visit," said Stallard.

"Their record at home isn't bad at all and there are not many teams who are going to come here and get a good result. But we won 3-1 and we have to take the confidence from this into the Burton game.

"I think this win was fully deserved and we were fantastic over the 90 minutes.

"The players we have are good players and we are just trying to convince them of that.

"In the last three games we have had probably more shots than in the last ten games.

"If the lads continue how they are then, the confidence will grow."

Stallard feels Mansfield were rewarded for their bold approach in not settling for a draw and going for the win.

He said: "It is massively important to win away. We came here not with the idea of not getting beaten but to go out and win it."

While the caretaker management duo are taking plenty of plaudits for turning Mansfield's form around in a short space of time, Stallard realises the chances of landing the job full-time are still slim.

He said: "I'm loving it and Adie is too but what happens next is down to the chairman. All we can do is take care of what we do and that means focusing on the Burton game."


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CHAD:
Confidence key to Stags revival, says caretaker Stallard
STAGS' joint caretaker boss Mark Stallard hailed Boxing Day's superb 3-1 win at Kettering Town as one of their best performances of the season and put the current improvement down to simply reinstalling players' shattered confidences.

"I have to put that up there with our best performances of the season," he said after only the second away win of the season and the first for three months.
"This is a very difficult place to come and Kettering won't lose too many times here.

"I thought the lads were fantastic over the 90 minutes. The first half was fairly even though I thought we slightly edged it against a Kettering side flying high. But it was a well deserved victory in the end.

"We played with freedom. We told the players if it was on, to have a shot and I think we have probably had more shots at goal in the last three games than we have had in the 10 games before that.

"If you don't buy a ticket you will never win a raffle."

Stallard and co-caretaker manager Adie Moses have tred to reinstall players' confidence since the sacking of boss Billy McEwan and Stallard said: "It appears to be working. If you enjoy doing something you will always do it better.

"When we took over we tried to take off some of the pressure. That doesn't mean it is now a jolly-up – the lads work very hard during the week in training. There is no easy way round it – you have to be fit to be a footballer.

"But it is all about confidence. If you have the ability and quality and know what each other are doing then you have half a chance.

"We were never coming here just to not get beaten or pick up a point. You just try to keep banging home to them how good these players are. It's all about belief. Keep this up and we will soon climb this table.

"With Adie (Moses) getting himself fit for today and me still being injured he let me get on with one or two things and concentrate on playing."

Although David Holdsworth is tipped to take over as the new manager imminently, the future remains uncertain for the caretaker duo.

But Stallard said: "I am absolutely loving it. It helps when you've had a couple of wins, it might be different if we'd just lost two!

"Whatever happens now is out of our hands. All we can do is our best for the club and get the lads ready for Monday.

"The chairman is keeping us informed but we don't know of anything concrete yet. So we will keep going about our business the right way in the meantime.

"As far as we know we are working towards the Burton game until we are told otherwise."


Goalscorer's praise for Mansfield Town caretakers
NATHAN Arnold heaped praise on caretaker manager duo Mark Stallard and Adie Moses as Stags' revival continued with a 3-1 win at Kettering on Boxing Day.
Arnold's late strike sealed the 3-1 win - the Stags' first on the road since September - and he said: "The lads here really look up to Mark and Adie and they are getting the best out of us which is showing on the pitch."

The festive win made it back-to-back BSP victories for the caretakers after the sacking of manager Billy McEwan at the end of a run of four points out of a possible 30 - a terrible run characterised by the boss's insistence on a 4-3-3 formation which yielded little goalmlouth action.

Arnold added: "I feel like a lot of the weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I had been playing on the left of a three and it just wasn't working.
"Now I am back on the right and everyone knows what they are doing. I feel a lot more comfortable and am really enjoying it. We were playing 4-4-2 when we were top of the league and everyone is enjoying it.

"I am being given the licence to play more instinctively rather than like a robot. It is all about confidence."
The future is still unclear, but Arnold added: "Stability is the main thing now.

"We won't get carried away by two results but at the beginning of the season we said the play-offs was where a club like this should be.

"If we carry on like we have done today we can do well. This was a great result here. Everyone dug in and at 1-1 we could have gone under. But we kept at it."

 

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