Archived News from September 2015
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MURRAY ON SHEARER, GREEN, LAMBE, BLAIR, THE REF
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Boss wants Stags to sharpen up in final third
mansfieldtown.net, 24th August 2015 Stags’ boss Adam Murray wants his side to be more clinical in the final third after Saturday’s draw with Oxford United. Craig Westcarr’s first goal of the season was cancelled out by a second-half penalty courtesy of Oxford midfielder Kemar Roofe to deny the Stags their first home win of the season. http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/stags-boss-wants-to-sharpen-up-in-final-third-2643787.aspx Murray was pleased with the build up play against Oxford, but says he wants his players to take advantage of the ‘great positions’ they keep finding themselves in. “I think [playing in] the final third of the pitch, we can get better at. I think we need to [use] a bit more instinct; we need to play a little bit quicker in the final third because we’re getting in some great positions and then it’s breaking down. “We need to be a little bit more clinical. We need to find that final pass, that cutting edge. We got in some great positions on Saturday and if we take advantage of that, then the game’s out of sight.” The Stags were awarded their first penalty in 86 games on Saturday, but striker Matt Green's well hit shot smashed against the woodwork. “Greeny (Matt Green) was an angry man after the game on Saturday and I love him when he’s in this frame of mind because you have to get out [of] his way. “He’s due a goal. He wants a goal more than anything and he’s normally a menace when he’s like this. He had to have intense treatment last week to get him right [for the game against Oxford] and I think a Matt Green who had trained all week grabs a hat-trick on Saturday. “We’re happy that he’s getting in the positions he is and I think we all know that the goals will come.” Murray added that Green’s all-round play has improved in the two years he spent at Birmingham, and he believes that can only be beneficial for the team. “I think going away to the Championship and coming back, we’ve seen an improvement in Matt in terms of his hold-up play and his work for other people. “Don’t get me wrong, you’ll never take the instinct and the goal-scorer out of Matt, because that’s his strengths. But what he is doing now is bringing people into play and he’s a good link up for people.” Prior to Saturday’s game, Murray confirmed that winger Matty Blair is set to re-sign for the club. “He’s looking strong. He’s a couple of weeks away from being ready to come back into action but he’s come on leaps and bounds - he’s a new and improved Matty Blair from what I’ve seen in the training bits he’s done with us and his work with the fitness guys. He’s added power to the speed now which will be a real good bonus for us. “He’s getting to the point now where he’s itching to get involved; he joined in training on Friday and he’s jumping around and slide tackling in a passing drill and I’m thinking ‘come on Matt, calm down!’. He’s looking fit and he’s looking sharp considering he’s coming back from an injury.” Murray, who made over 170 appearances for us as a player, also had news on Scott Shearer’s injury after the ‘keeper missed the last three games. He said: “It (Shearer’s ankle) ‘blew up’ after the warm-up [in the Sheffield Wednesday game]. He hadn’t twisted it and he hadn’t taken a kick on it so it was a bit of a strange one. “Then after the game, he came in and didn’t feel very well, and then the following day he was really ill and his ankle just went red raw. So we rushed him to hospital and they [the medical staff] think he’s been bitten by something. “He was in hospital last week and they were going to operate but he’s responded well to antibiotics, so now we’ve just got to wait for that to kick in and calm him down and we can’t put a timescale on it,” Murray added. With young players like Conor Green and Chris Spencer out on loan, Murray has a squad of just 22 players to choose from, but is unlikely to add to his squad before the end of the transfer window next Tuesday 01 September. “We’re happy with what we’ve got. We’re obviously a tight-knit group but I think we’ve got quality in there. We’re always going to run the risk of injuries and suspensions but I think the group is tight [knit]. “We showed [on] Saturday that we’ve got people like Craig Westcarr who can come in and affect it. We’re doing a lot of work on the conditioning side, Daryl [Taylor, strength and conditioning coach] has come in and he’s working very closely with the physios and it’s putting the boys in good nick and minimalising the chance of injury.” Watch manager Adam Murray's full interview now on Stags Player. ---------------- Mansfield Town may need loan keeper as Scott Shearer recovers from insect bite scare chad.co.uk, by John Lomas, Monday 24 August 2015 Adam Murray may have to bring in a loan keeper as cover this week depending on how long Scott Shearer takes to recover from an infected ankle that almost needed an emergency operation last week. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-may-need-loan-keeper-as-scott-shearer-recovers-from-insect-bite-scare-1-7425642 The problem is believed to have been caused by a virus from an insect bite in the Capital One Cup game at Hillsborough and left Shearer very ill. Thankfully, Shearer is out of hospital now and Brain Jensen has covered well for him between the posts. “It’s been a bit of a worry to be honest with you,” said boss Murray. “It started at Sheffield Wednesday after the warm-up. “He hadn’t twisted it, he hadn’t took a kick on it so it was a bit of a strange one. Then the day after the game he came in really ill and his ankle was just red raw. “So we rushed him to hospital and they think he’s took a bite from something in Sheffield. That really flared up. “He was in hospital all last week and they were going to operate, but he’s reacted to one of the anti-biotics. We have just got to wait for that to kick in and calm him down. “We can’t put a time scale on it. I think Brian has been excellent since he’s come in. It is obviously a bit of a risk going with one goalkeeper so hopefully we will hear more over the next 72 hours on Scott and then we will make a decision. “We just thought it was a twist Scott hadn’t picked up on and it had swollen because of that. When he came in the following day he was shaking and sweating so we knew that something wasn’t right. Then when you saw the infection growing up his leg, you thought we’d better get him to the doc’s. It was a bit worrying, but he on the mend now. “He is out of hospital now and back home.” --------------- Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray apologises to referee over Oxford United penalty row chad.co.uk, by John Lomas, Monday 24 August 2015 Mansfield Town manager Adam Murray has admitted he had to apologise to rookie referee Ben Toner after Saturday’s 1-1 home draw with Oxford United after seeing on a replay that Reggie Lambe’s challenge was in the box, which gave Oxford their equalising penalty kick. “I apologised to the referee after the game on Saturday,” said Murray. “I didn’t think at the time he had got the penalty right but, watching it back, he had. So I went to see him. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-boss-adam-murray-apologises-to-referee-over-oxford-united-penalty-row-1-7425623 “It wasn’t like Reggie. He’s normally very cool and composed, but he turned into Jackie Chan for about 10 seconds. It’s disappointing as we were in control of that situation. “We’d dealt with the cross, which was a great ball, and then we go and make a rash decision like that. “I haven’t got a clue what was in his (Lambe) mind. I will be seeing Reggie this morning just to go over the start of the season in general. “I believe he a player that can have a big effect on this team. We just need to iron a few things out and tweak a few things as, when we get in that final third, Reggie does have a lot of joy in there, though we need a little bit more of an end product. Reggie is aware of that.” --------------- Angry Mansfield Town goal ace Matt Green gunning for York City chad.co.uk, by John Lomas, Monday 24 August 2015 York City and League Two should beware as Mansfield Town goal ace Matt Green is not in the best of moods. After missing a crucial penalty in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with his former club Oxford United and seeing keeper Sam Slocombe deny him with a good save, Stags’ returning goal ace is still yet to get off the mark. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/angry-mansfield-town-goal-ace-matt-green-gunning-for-york-city-1-7425580 So boss Adam Murray is hoping this Saturday’s opponents York take the brunt of his frustration. “You look at the person taking it (the penalty) and you would put everything you had on him scoring,” said Murray. “Greeny was an angry man Saturday after the game and I love him when he is in this frame of mind because you need to get out of his way. He is due a goal and he wants a goal more than anything. “He is a menace when he’s like this and it will be good for him. “He had to have intense treatment after the game last week to get him right and, because he is that big a player for us, he went in on Saturday and I think a Matt Green that had trained all week, he grabs a hat-trick on Saturday. So we are happy with the positions he is getting into and we all know with Matt the goals will come.” Murray believes the Matt Green he has signed this summer is even better than the one whose goals shot Stags to promotion three seasons back. “I think in going away to the Championship and coming back I think we’ve seen an improvement in Matt in terms of his hold-up play and his work for other people,” said Murray. “Don’t get me wrong you will never take the instinct of a goalscorer out of Matt as that’s his strength. But what he is doing now is he’s bringing other people into play and he’s a good link-up for other people. “That was one of the disappointing things for Matt on Saturday is that his link-up play wasn’t as good as it has been. But I think as a team, watching the game back three or four times as I do, in that final third we need to be a little bit more clinical with that final pass, that cutting edge. “We got in some great positions on Saturday and if we take advantage of that, the game is out of sight.” Murray spent the weekend reflecting on the Oxford game, saying: “It was a weird game of mixed emotions really. “We started really well, then I felt they showed their quality at certain points in the game, but I still think we had to win it. I felt we should have been 3-0 up inside 20 minutes and the game is over really. “So a lot of plusses, especially for the boys to show themselves and give themselves that extra belief that we can compete with the top clubs in this league 100 per cent. “We are going into these games expecting to beat them which, for me, is a brilliant thing. It’s a lot different to last year and it’s creating that belief within the group now that we can say, we’re not bad, let’s go and affect this league. Let’s put a little run together and go and climb the table. “Saturday I thought we should have won it after the first half hour but then you come out of it thinking it’s not a bad result and not a bad point after coming under spells of pressure. “We showed different qualities on Saturday. We showed we can get around people but when we are under pressure we are defending really well at the minute. We have conceded three goals in the League, two have been outside the box and one has been a penalty. “They have all been disappointing goals. I have not yet looked at one of the goals and gone, we have been opened up there.” ------------------- Matty Blair set to sign new Mansfield Town deal today. chad.co.uk, by John Lomas, Monday 24 August 2015 Mansfield Town expect winger Matty Blair to finally sign a new deal today after proving his fitness following a serious knee injury early this year. Although Blair is still two or three weeks away from being fit enough to rejoin the squad, boss Adam Murray said he felt excited the club now had a new and improved Matty Blair to look forward to. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/matty-blair-set-to-sign-new-mansfield-town-deal-today-1-7425595 “I think it’s done. I will wait until I hear confirmation, but I think we’re there,” smiled Murray. “It will be another good signing for us. He’s looking really strong. He is still a couple of weeks away from being 100 per cent ready to come back into action. But he has come on leaps and bounds. He is a new, improved Matty Blair from what I have seen in the training bits he’s done with us. “He has added power to the speed now which will be a really good bonus for us.” Murray continued: “He is getting to the point now where he is itching to get back. He joined in training on Friday. He is jumping around and putting in slide tackles during passing drills so we have had to tell him to calm down. “He is looking fit and, considering he is coming back from an injury, he looks sharp which is always something you look for from long term injuries. “When you have them you don’t do as much cardio work as players who are playing every week, so you put on a bit of bulk on muscle-wise. “But he looks sharp and slimline and, because he is naturally fit, it’s not going to take him that long to get straight back up to tempo.” -------------------- Mansfield Town hoping skipper Nicky Hunt can shake off weekend illness chad.co.uk, by John Lomas Mansfield Town are hoping skipper Nicky Hunt will be fully fit for Saturday’s trip to York City after taking ill on Saturday and having to leave the field with dizziness during the 1-1 draw with Oxford United. “Hunty rang in Saturday morning with a little bit of fever,” said Murray. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-hoping-skipper-nicky-hunt-can-shake-off-weekend-illness-1-7425682 “He said he felt a little bit run-down, nothing major. But as the game has gone on, with the heat as well, he got a little bit dehydrated. So the best thing to do - and they’d put Kemar Roofe out there which was causing us a problem - was to get him off. “He was feeling extra dizzy so we took the safe option and luckily we had Lee Collins to go in there and secure it up a little bit. “He’s one of these characters. He is a tough lad and he wants to go through brick walls. He’s got pride in wearing the shirt and he’s obviously been a big player for us. “He felt he was well enough to play and I think up until about 70 minutes when he started draining a little bit he didn’t really feel it. So we had to make that change and get him off.” Murray added: “I think what you don’t realise, and I didn’t realise on Saturday until I’d spoken to a few players I know away from this club, was how hot it was.” Hunt, like most of the players and staff at the club, have also really had it taken out of them how busy the new season has been with so many midweek games. And they are not the only ones. “It’s incredible how many managers said on Saturday how glad they are this start is out of the way as it’s been Saturday/Tuesday,” said Murray. “We have a small squad and I think on Saturday at times it hit us as we didn’t have that dynamics about us that we normally have. At times we looked a bit laboured.” One or two comments have been made that Stags haven’t had far to travel yet and shouldn’t be complaining about so many games, but Murray countered: “That’s a cheap comment. “You have to understand what it takes out of you. You can travel six hours or you can travel two hours. It’s the occasion and it’s the psychological effect it has on people. “You are 100 per cent focused. We didn’t get back from Accrington until 3am and then we were up and about it the next day again, so it has an effect.” Stags now have a clear week prepare for York with Murray saying: “It is a good week to refocus to see who far we’ve come since pre-season after the first batch of games and we will focus on York. “We have already watched their last three games. There is a little tie between the clubs from the Conference days, but for us we are going there to win. We set out a target this month and if we hit it and carry on that kind of points tally we’ve set out monthly, we’ll be in the play-offs. So we want a result Saturday to keep on that target push. “The build-up for the week now will be about York. They are a big, strong side,very efficient but we know their weaknesses and what our strengths are. So we will be going there to win.” --------------------- Referee in to speak to Mansfield Town over high bookings count chad.co.uk, by John Lomas A representative from the Referee’s Association will be coming in to speak to Mansfield Town’s players tomorrow after the Stags picked up an amazing 13 bookings in two games this week. Boss Adam Murray said he felt many of them were down to over-enthusiasm rather being nasty, but welcomed the help to educate his players not to take silly yellow cards. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/referee-in-to-speak-to-mansfield-town-over-high-bookings-count-1-7425685 “It’s a strange one,” he said. “We have picked up a lot of yellow cards in the first three games. “But you look at the actual yellow cards, they are not malicious tackles. It’s not as if we are bullies. We are the opposite and I think we have got a few soft touches in there. “I am doing reports for the referees after the games this season, as I think if they good they are good and I expect the same back. “I apologised to the referee after the game on Saturday. I didn’t think at the time he had got the penalty right but, watching it back, he had so I went to see him. “You look at the referee on Tuesday, it was his first Football League game and speaking to the assessors at time he was a little bit rash. “On Saturday it was only his second Football League game I think and it showed. “With a little bit more experience with them guys, they are not going to be as rash with just giving out bookings. “Don’t get me wrong we are at fault for some of the things. “We have are a referee coming in from the Referee’s Association on Wednesday to have a chat with the lads as we are so young and energetic and we want to put this kind of fire onto everybody, we are reacting at times, myself included, at 100 miles an hour and I think we can calm that down a little bit. “It’s not as if there are two-footed challenges everywhere. What Oxford did on Saturday, and fair play it’s part of the game, is that they managed the ref well on Saturday. “I think some of the fouls given, they made it a little bit worse than they were. But this is the game and we have got to be a bit cleverer about how we go about things. “But are not overly concerned. It’s something we are talking to the lads about. If we were having people running in two-footing people then it would be out of control. “But some of the tackles are just a lack of timing. It’s an eagerness to go and win the ball and nothing malicious. So it just needs a bit of thought going into it.” -------------------- No plans to buy or sell as deadline approaches for Mansfield Town chad.co.uk, by John Lomas With the August transfer window deadline approaching next week, Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray said he had to plans to buy or sell. Stags have one eye on the health of keeper Scott Shearer and could need a loan keeper if he fails to quickly recover from an infected ankle. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/no-plans-to-buy-or-sell-as-deadline-approaches-for-mansfield-town-1-7425697 But, apart from that, Murray is happy with his players after 14 summer signings. “We are happy with what we’ve got,” he said. “We are a tight knit group. We have a small squad but we have decent quality in there. “Like your Wycombes, we will always run the risk of injuries and suspensions. But it showed on Saturday we have got people who can come in like Craig Westcarr and affect it. “We are doing a lot of work on the conditioning side. It’s putting the boys in good nick and giving us the least risk of injury we can.” As for interest in his players, he added: “Nothing at all and I hope it stays that way.” ----------------- |
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