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Archived News from January 2009

STAGSWORLD SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT, WITH MARK KEARNEY
22nd January 2009 22:36



StagsWorld's Sunday Supplement, including Mark Kearney on Ian Greaves, here

StagsWorld's Martin Shaw and Nigel Pinnick describe the winning goal, here

6 minutes of video highlights, courtesy of StagsWorld freeview here

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New Stags home pre-match routine a success
CHAD,19 January 2009,By John Lomas
MANAGER David Holdsworth felt his new home pre-match routine helped his Mansfield Town side achieve success on Saturday.
Players now assemble at Field Mill at 11.45am and have lunch together in the board room and a meeting.

"It's all about good habits and eating the right things," said Holdsworth.

"It helps to eradicate the type of problems they can have if they have to travel to get here. And I don't want them arriving late or eating roadside burgers on their way up!

"We have a meeting and the boys eat some light food. We are together and it's all part of a full day's work, not just turning up at 3pm.

"The board have supported us on this as they have from day one. Everyone is pulling together."

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Holdsworth demands second Stags clean sheet at Lewes
CHAD, 19 January 2009 ,By John Lomas
AFTER seeing off high-flying Crawley Town in his first game as Mansfield Town manager, David Holdsworth is aware some fans may almost expect his side to turn over crisis club Lewes on Saturday.
But he stressed that victory on the south coast would be a dangerous assumption to make.

"Can anyone tell me when the last time there was an expectation at this club to win two games on the trot? You can't do that," he said.

"Let's be realistic - we will make sure we are hard to beat. If we get another 1-0 win - fine. If we score three or four then happy days!

"But there are no easy games in this league as has been shown so many times.

"I would like a clean sheet away from home first and foremost. If we got a 0-0 then that would be four points in a week which is title-winning form!

"Lewes managed a good draw against Havant in the cup and they have a lot of experience in their side with players like Anthony Barness and Danny Cullip.

"They are fighting for their lives right now and we have got to match that. We will be prepared - I will have done my homework and hopefully we can continue our winning run!"

The cash-strapped Rooks are trying to avoid going into adminstration right now and have not won a point in 2009 yet and have not won in six games - conceding 14 goals in those six games.

The Stags board have given Holdsworth the green light to travel to the game on Friday and stay overnight.

"We will train early on Friday before travelling down there," he said.

"The boys will eat about 6.30pm and be in bed for 9.30. Then we will have a good walk on Saturday morning - hopefully the weather will be good."

New signing Curtis Woodhouse is almost certain to make a debut after serving a one-match ban.

"There could be a few surprises in the team selection," said Holdsworth.

"Having Curtis back available is certainly no headache for me. I pick a team to win every match. That may mean changing a winning team, it may mean picking the same side.

"I do my homework on every team and will manage every game like a cup final this season.

My longer term plan is different to the short term. We are fighting for our lives.

"We have wonderful supporters here and a big ground for this division. But away from home you can become a bit semi-skimmed.

"I want my teams to be the same home and away. It may be a bit boring for some as I like to shut the game down.

"But there is nothing wrong with winning in that manner.

"We have not got the ingredients at the moment to do anything else. We have to fight and be dogged and resilient and have a good crack at it."

Saturday's goal hero Rob Duffy had treatment on Sunday and will now be given two days' rest to recover before returning to training.

"He has a slight groin problem on Friday but scoring a goal on Saturday helped it a lot," smiled Holdsworth.

"He came in with general stiffness on Sunday but hopefully there will be no problems with him for the weekend."

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Latest | January 2009