Archived News from October 2002
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PUT MACKENZIE ON THE SPOT, SAYS WATKISS
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PUT MACKENZIE ON THE SPOT, SAYS WATKISS
Evening Post, 08 October 2002 Mansfield Town boss Stuart Watkiss will not accept another player taking a penalty to complete a hat-trick after Iyseden Christie's miss on Saturday. Christie had scored twice as Stags cantered to a 6-1 lead against Tranmere on Saturday but screwed a penalty wide after being upended by on-loan Forest defender Christian Edwards. Watkiss said that Neil MacKenzie, who scored the first in the victory over Rovers, would take future spot-kicks. He said: "I don't care if we are winning 15-0 and there is someone who wants a hat-trick, Neil will be taking all the penalties as long as he is on the pitch. "I wasn't happy about Iyseden taking it anyway because I still get embarrassed when I see our goal difference and we need all the goals we can get. "I suppose it was the best time to miss a penalty but it will not be happening again." Christie also missed a penalty in a reserve game at Notts County in August and Wayne Corden missed a spot-kick in the 2-0 defeat against Stockport County. A similar situation to Saturday occurred last season when Craig Disley, having scored two against Macclesfield, saw his penalty saved. But now the situation is crystal clear. Watkiss said: "Neil is the penalty taker we agree on before the match." The Stags boss said he did not believe his side had played better when they scored six goals on Saturday than they had in the 2-0 defeat at Northampton the previous week. He added: "One swallow doesn't make a summer but the difference was we took our chances. "The fact we are only a couple of wins off tenth place shows how close it is because everyone is beating everybody. "Hopefully, it will be the springboard to go on but the players have got to realise that it is only one performance. "It is still imperative that we go to Peterborough on Saturday and come back with something. "It is a massive game because, if they lose at Stockport tonight, we will go above them if we win and that will be a great boost. "It will be no good if we get results here and there. What we need to do is make this a platform from which we can get a sequence of results going." Full-back Allen Tankard is expected to maintain his comeback with 90 minutes for the reserves at Wrexham tomorrow. Scott Sellars has a slight groin strain but is expected to be fit for the trip to London Road. --------- Posted by Martin Shaw --------- Extracted from mansfieldtown.net For the full story visit mansfieldtown.net "Our goal difference is still embarrassing to look at and we need to get as many goals back as we can. I was shouting from the sideline that Iyseden wasn't to take the kick, I don't care if it meant that he got an hat-trick or not. Whenever Neil MacKenzie is on the pitch - he is the penalty taker." "Saturday was fantastic for everyone who is associated with the club. We weren't the greatest in the first half, but for the second half we were unstoppable. Everybody did the job that they were asked to do and we got our reward. In all honesty I don't think that we played any better in the second half than we did in the second half at Northampton, we just took our chances on Saturday and it shows how much it lifts the team." "Arjan wasn't too busy in the second half but he made a crucial save just before the break which could have turned the game. Jamie had his best game so far, Damien got better as the game went on and Mark and Neil put in their best performance as a partnership so far. The midfield 3 of Liam, Dis and Macca did what I asked of them and looked solid. Scott Sellars showed what damage he can cause when we give him the ball and it was pleasing to see both strikers find the back of the net." "We can't get carried away and we must keep our feet on the floor. I switched my radio on after the game and heard a supporter say that winning 6-1 doesn't make you a good team, but losing 6-1 doesn't make you a bad team either. He was bang on with what he said and that is something that we all have to realise. The players need to keep their feet on the floor and draw confidence from the win. I won't let them get carried away, I've already had them out running today. They won't get a day off for their win, they'll be in training all week and will knuckle down to the task ahead." "I watched Tranmere in the week at Southampton and when I looked over to Ray, I just knew what he was going through. The same thing happened here Saturday and when I invited him to my office for a drink afterwards I told him that I knew exactly how he felt." "Jamie (Clarke) had his best game so far on Saturday since breaking into the first team. He is now begining to believe that he is part of the first team and it showed at the weekend. If Jamie continues to play like that, Bobby Hassell will find it tough to get back in the side when he returns from injury." "Danny (Holyoak) came on for us again and did everything right in the short time that he was on. Danny is certainly one with a bright future, he has a nastiness inside him that all good defenders have. Danny would kick his own granny to get to the ball first and that attitude will serve him well in the game." "It's nice to see lads coming through the youth team. A few years ago we had the likes of Liam, Dis, Leeroy and Jerv all come through. Since then we 've been a bit quiet but these lads are the first of a new crop of youngsters. I'm delighted with the pair of them so far and there may be more to follow. The hard work put in by Dutch with the youth team and by John and Mark at the centre of excellence is now showing its rewards." The full interview with Stuart Watkiss will be available on Stags World on Tuesday. |
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