Archived News from January 2016
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MURRAY PREVIEWS LUTON GAME / ADAMS LATEST
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press conference in full for StagsPlayer subscribers (20 minutes)
http://www.player.mansfieldtown.net/latest-news/da611870-f888-4ca1-a93a-61a0062746b9 --------------- freeview: Murray to fans - same again please! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuxcEhkFqgY&feature=youtu.be -------------- Gaffer to fans: ‘same again, please!’ mansfieldtown.net 18th January 2016 Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray wants our supporters to continue their ‘brilliant’ backing in Saturday’s home match against Luton Town. The game against the Hatters will be the third straight home game which chairman John Radford has dropped ticket prices for individuals aged 17 and under to just £1. And our manager is looking forward to the prospect of the atmosphere inside One Call Stadium to be similar to the recent home encounter with Stevenage, when Murray was particularly impressed with the noise generated inside the ground. Speaking in today's news conference, he said: “I’ve probably got to apologise to the travelling fans on Saturday - not for the way the game ended, but because of my frustration. I probably didn’t go over and appreciate the support like I normally do. “We do appreciate it. They were brilliant on Saturday again but I thought the home game against Stevenage [was the] best I’ve seen them. It was like being in Turkey, it was brilliant and it made a difference to the players. [There’s] 20 games [left], let’s have a right go - what will be will be.” Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/murray-challenges-players-to-take-control-in-games-2908489.aspx#oz3CxgfzH6B4tDeu.99 Murray was keen to reaffirm that despite wanting the club to achieve success in the current campaign, he doesn’t want to lose perspective of the job he’s got ahead of him; making Mansfield a consistent team in the upper echelons of the division. “I have to keep emphasising that we want success this season, that’s not going to change. I want this club to be a continuous competitive side, not just a one-off. “This season’s about building from where we’ve come from, putting some real foundations in and moving forward- we’re in a really good place. “They’re (Mansfield’s players) trying to do the right things, sometimes I’ve got to learn that decision-making will be ‘off’ at either end because with all due respect, we’re in League Two. If we’re getting the right decisions every week, the players wouldn’t be here. It’s tough to be patient with that, but we’re on the right track.” The gaffer revealed news regarding the fitness of defender Mal Benning and striker Adi Yussuf, as they both look to get back to full fitness to help the Stags back into the play-off positions. “Mal’s is back in training today so that’ll be an upwards step for him now. His intensity and everything will go up and it’ll be how he reacts to that. Adi Yussuf’s still out, hopefully his rehab will take an upward turn this week.” The manager was upbeat about the challenge of maximising the potential of his current batch of players for the rest of the campaign, instead of delving further into the transfer market. “I’m not looking at anything in particular [for the January transfer window], obviously we’re trying to get Blair (Adams) done today. The easy option is for me to go to the chairman and say: ‘look, we need this and we need that’. Being brutally honest, we haven’t got the resources that probably the top four/five clubs have got. “We’ve got very good players here, the chairman’s backed me to get very good players in. We’ve got a small squad but I believe within it, we can learn and grow this season. I know a lot of people in football and you know what these top clubs are doing and we just can’t do that. What we can do is work extra hard and get the best out of the players we’ve got.” You can view Murray's news conference on Stags Player. ------------------- Second half substitution gambles backfired at AFC Wimbledon admits Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray chad.co.uk, John Lomas, Monday 18 January 2016 Adam Murray today admitted his substitution gambles backfired in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at AFC Wimbledon. But the Mansfield Town boss said he had to do something as the powerful and direct Dons were getting on top of a Stags side that should have already been out of sight by the break. He also expressed relief that they wouldn’t have to face the giant Londoners again or anything like them this season. “I know it’s a cliché but I think everyone there on Saturday would tell you that it was the biggest example of a game of two halves that you have ever seen,” said Murray after seeing his side in charge with a Matt Green goal at the break only to concede three poor second half goals. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/second-half-substitution-gambles-backfired-at-afc-wimbledon-admits-mansfield-town-boss-adam-murray-1-7682093#ixzz3xcWwNbZX “We took a bit of a gamble with the starting line-up - it was very attacking for an away game with what we were coming up against. “But we felt that if we could get on the front foot, we could have the game done and dusted within the first hour and I think the way we started, some of our play, and the chances we created, it should have been done and dusted. “We should have been going in at half-time at least 2-0 up. We never looked threatened and I’ve never felt as in control of a game as we were. “In the back of our mind when we got their team sheet, we knew there were going to be certain aspects of the game we’d have to deal with. And we knew that our starting XI had a lot of flair players in it. We had the artists in, not the soldiers. “We started the second half poorly, gave away a really poor goal from a mistake, an individual error, and then we knew the kitchen sink was coming.” He continued: “When you come up against Wimbledon they are all 6ft 3ins plus and the way they play, to be fair I am not going to criticise it, they get it in the mixer, they put it in the box at every opportunity, and within 10 minutes it was causing us problems. “We tried to be a bit proactive and get ourselves back in the game, which we did with a change of shape and personnel. At 1-1 we’ve had a couple of chances. Away from home you go 2-1 up and shut up shop and it’s job done. “But we made decisions and then got sucker-punched by a set play. “Then we let in another poor goal from one ball. So we shot ourselves in the foot by giving away three of the weakest goals you can give away. “We were prepared for what was coming, but you give a backpass away, you don’t mark the man at a corner, and then one straight ball - you can’t get any more black and white. “It’s not as if if anything weird and wonderful came out the bag unfortunately for us. When people go over the white line we can’t make the decisions for them.” Murray will be tackling the issues to come out of this defeat this week but is calling on his more experienced players to take control on the field when the tide starts to turn. “I am putting a lot of pressure on the senior boys, but they’ve got to step up,” he said. “We need leaders out there. At that point someone should have been slapping people round the head and waking people up. “For the next 10 minutes if the ball stays out of play, people get their head back, we kill the game. “We are a little bit naïve at times as we want to play a certain way. We don’t want to do the ugly stuff. We want to get the ball back in play and play again. “When momentum swings as quickly as it did on Saturday you have got to know how to manage the game. “Unfortunately because we didn’t, we had to sacrifice our forward-thinking players to try to shut the shop up and that was always going to be a gamble. “That will always give them chances of scoring at the other end and on Saturday unfortunately the gamble backfired on us. “But when a powerful team like that puts you on the back foot you have got to react. Our thinking was that in the next 10-15 minutes we could have conceded again so we changed the shape at 1-1 and looked to get that security back.” He added: “We had two chances and if we’d taken them the substitutions would have looked fantastic. They are the gambles you take and we won’t face anything else like that this season. “They had movement, pace and power - everything we don’t like coming up against all in one. “It was disappointing but at the same time it wasn’t as if we got pulled apart. We got done by basics. “We had the game in more than two hands. We had it locked up, sewn up, in the bag. We just had to manage the game and we didn’t do that. Players have got to take ownership.” However, the Stags remain just one point off the play-off places and Murray stressed: “I have to keep emphasising we want success this season. That’s not going to change. “As I said last week I want this side to be competitive and challenging not just this season but every season. “If it’s not this season, if we keep challenging we will eventually get in there and get promotion. “This season is about building from where we have come from which is unreal so far. Within this building phase I still think we’ve got a fair chance of being in the play-offs. “Everybody is beating everybody else. Some have games in hand, but for me that will prove to be a negative as those with games in hand are all playing each other or they have small squads which is always going to be a hindrance. “We are in a really good place.” -------------------- Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray calls on side to go for glory in last 20 games chad.co.uk, John Lomas Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray hopes his side’s attacking flair can fire them into the play-offs as they go into the final 20 games. Without being reckless at the back, Murray wants his side to forget draws and go for wins in every game as they attempt to sneak into the top seven. “At times we will take one on the chin like we did on Saturday,” he said. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/mansfield-town-boss-adam-murray-calls-on-side-to-go-for-glory-in-last-20-games-1-7684022#ixzz3xi27QiLE “But we have 20 games left now and we’re in one of those predicaments where nobody before this season thought we’d be where we are and look at it and go ‘ well, we are now’, so the expectation is to do that. Yes, I get it, we want success. “So let’s try to win every game. If we can win 50 per cent of our games we will be up there. So we’d rather win and lose, win and lose rather than win and draw three. “We are going to have a go for 20 games and see where we end up. We want to try to sneak into that play-off place. “I think probably three places will be taken, maybe four, so there are about six of us scrapping for that last four and we will be in the mix. “We’ve 20 games left - let’s have a right good go and what will be will be. Let’s go and win football matches.” Reflecting on the 3-1 defeat at AFC Wimbledon, he added: “On Saturday we played with a lot of attacking players and it’s brilliant going forward. We’ve just got to be careful at the other end. “If you don’t take your chances, you can get sucker-punched. So it’s about getting the balance right. “We’ve looked at different things, what works in what area and what works at the other end of the pitch and being ultra-secure or ultra-attacking. Now it’s about getting that balance. “I am enjoying it, I think the football club is in a great place. “The first team are trying to do the right things. Sometimes I have to learn that sometimes decision-making will be off at either end because, with all due respect, we are in League Two and if we were getting the right decisions every week the players wouldn’t be here. “So we have to be patient with that. But we’re on the right track and I know we’ll end up where we need to be.” ---------------- Mansfield Town unlikely to do any more January business chad.co.uk, John Lomas As Mansfield Town today tried to tie up a deal to keep Notts County loanee Blair Adams on a permanent deal, boss Adam Murray said it was unlikely the club would do any more business in the January transfer window after that. It was one in and one out at One Call Stadium last week with Nathan Thomas heading for Hartlepool and James Baxendale in on loan from Walsall. But with only Adi Yussuf in the club treatment room, Murray has almost a full squad to choose from and admitted: “I am not looking at anything in particular now. “The easy option is for me to go to the chairman and say, look, we need this and we need that. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/mansfield-town-unlikely-to-do-any-more-january-business-1-7683712#ixzz3xhEHnBRJ “Being brutally honest we haven’t got the resources that probably the top four or fiver clubs have got. “But we have very good players here. The chairman has backed us to go and get some very good players in this season. “We’ve got a small squad but I believe, within it, we can learn and grow this season. We are not going to jump into the top three. We’re not there yet. “I went to Oxford at the weekend and they got 9,000. I know a lot of people in football so obviously you know what these clubs are doing and we can’t do that. “What we can do is work extra hard and get the best out of the players we have got.” ----------------- Mansfield Town hope to complete deal to sign Notts County loanee Blair Adams today chad.co.uk, John Lomas, Monday 18 January 2016 Mansfield Town today hope to complete the signing of Notts County left back Blair Adams. After talks last week, Stags boss Adam Murray was optimistic a permanent deal could be struck following some sterling performances by Adams while on loan since October. Murray said: “The player wants to stay and they don’t want him. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/mansfield-town-hope-to-complete-deal-to-sign-notts-county-loanee-blair-adams-today-1-7681338#ixzz3xcXh6G58 “So it’s just about finding out what’s the best deal. “Can we come to an agreement with the player and can the player come to an agreement with Notts County? “It’s never straightforward, there are always ifs and buts. “But we are hopeful it will be done today.” Meanwhile, Stags’ other left back, Mal Benning, is finally back in full training today after recovering from a knee injury sustained in mid-October against Bristol Rovers. ------------------- Town trio are a doubt for Stags clash by Mike Simmonds, Thursday 21 January 2016 Hatters trio Mark Tyler, Danny Green and Ryan Hall are all major doubts for the League Two trip to Mansfield this weekend. Tyler (back) and Green (ankle ligaments) were both forced off in the opening 20 minutes of last Saturday’s goalless draw with Cambridge United. Read more: http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/sport/luton-town/luton-town-news/town-trio-are-a-doubt-for-stags-clash-1-7174084#ixzz3xtvURIOW Ryan Hall was then replaced in the second half too and on their availability, Luton boss Nathan Jones said: “We’re assessing them daily, they’re not massively serious ones, they’re ones that we will be able to make a decision on tomorrow morning, whether they travel or not. “Ryan’s one that’s going to have to come through a few things. He hasn’t trained the first two days of the week and he’s going to have to come through and then we’ll assess him on Friday and hopefully we’ll have a positive one on him. “It’s little bit frustrating really as we had to make three enforced changes during the game, which wasn’t ideal and from having a massive squad, it restricts our decisions now. “We’ll wait until we get the update though, we won’t risk anyone, but if they come through everything then they’ll travel and be assessed from there.” Young striker Jack Marriott should be fit though despite struggling in the final 10 minutes against Cambridge as Jones continued: “Jack put in a real shift on the weekend and a little bit of fatigue maybe crept in with him. “He’s still young, in terms of games and experience at this level, he came through fine and trained all week.” The likes of Nathan Doyle and Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu are in contention too, with Jones admitting he was particularly excited about the prospect of working with the latter after his struggle with injury this season. He said: “I think that’s the thing that’s hampered him is the injuries. He’s a player we’re looking forward to working with, I’m quite excited to work with him and little by little I’ll get to know him and get to know his strengths and see what he can do for us, so I’m sure he’ll be a good player. “Apart from ones we’ve previously mentioned, it’s a fully fit squad to choose from and it’s a big squad to choose from, so we’ll go there with good numbers.” If Tyler doesn’t make it through his fitness test, Jones would have no problems with handing Elliot Justham only his third league start of the season. He added: “Elliot came in and did fantastically well. He’s a keeper we believe in anyway, he’s had to be patient which is the message he got before I got here. “He’s had to be patient and bide his time, he got his chance and did very, very well.” ------------ |
Latest | January 2016