Archived News from May 2016
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MURRAY MOVING FAST ON TRANSFER TARGETS
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Stags' boss wants strong finish to season
mansfieldtown.net, 27th April 2016 Stags' manager Adam Murray says he expects his players to maintain their high performance levels in the final two games of the season. The Stags will be hoping to end the 2015-16 campaign strongly in the final two weeks, as they face a trip to Leyton Orient on Saturday before hosting Cambridge United at One Call Stadium seven days later. And Murray's men will be targeting a continuation of their current strong form, having won three matches from their last four, sitting in 11th position in Sky Bet League Two with two matches to play. And the Stags' boss says that although the play-offs are now out of reach, he expects his players to keep the same level of intensity as they aim to finish as high as possible in the league. “Now we can’t get into the play-offs, it’s about personal pride. Players have got to perform - so when we do come to pre-season and we do kick-off the new season, they give themselves the best chance of starting," Murray said. Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/boss-wont-accept-drop-in-performance-3081944.aspx#1mXcbyuSVshvgksQ.99 “If anyone was to take their foot off the gas, I’m sure the group would pull them into line and if I sense that someone stepped over the line, they wouldn’t be in the squad.” Looking ahead to the away game at Leyton Orient’s Matchroom Stadium on Saturday (3pm kick-off), the 34-year-old manager is looking forward to coming up against strong opponents who are likely to name former Mansfield right-back Nicky Hunt in their side. If the Stags defeat the East Londoners, they will equal the record number of away wins by a Mansfield team in the Football League, which stands at 11, and was set in the 1974-75 promotion-winning campaign. “It’s a huge club (Leyton Orient), a very big club with some very good resources behind them. It’ll be good to see Hunty, but it’ll be another tough game for us. We want to finish on a high and we want to go unbeaten - the boys have kicked into some real form and we’re looking forward to the game. “The players have had a great season individually and as a group. We are looking at next season but at the same time, we’ve still got just under two weeks to go [of this season].” Despite Murray stating that he doesn’t want the season to finish as the players are ‘in a good mode’, he has outlined his plans for the summer and what needs to be added to progress the club even further. “I think it’s not necessarily going out there and signing five or six top class players - it’s about getting the right ingredient that’s going to add to what we’ve already got. We haven’t got a recruitment department, we haven’t got a scouting department; everything’s on us. “We like a small squad, I like a small squad, I know the chairman likes a small squad - what it does do, like we’ve seen, is that it gives you a ‘ridiculous’ team spirit.” John Dempster’s under 18s will seal the Football League Youth Alliance title on Saturday with a win over Grimsby and Murray was full of praise for the way the youth team has performed. “I think it’s got to have been one of the biggest steps forward in terms of a season that the club’s made in a long while. I went to watch the [under] 16s the other night and you don’t want to speak too early but there’ll be a couple of them that’ll be in and around our first team very quickly. “What people won’t see is that the recruitment for it (the under 18s) was last minute - to put the group together that they’ve done, credit to them.# "For me, this is a three-four-five year project where I’ll take this forward and I expect a lot of our ‘own’ players to be in this. I expect the youth setup to grow. “The problem they’ve got now, like we (first team) have, is that they’re going to be expected to do better next season. It gets tougher but that’s where the club has got to stand up as well and move forward with us.” Supporters can view Adam Murray’s midweek news conference on Stags Player HD. ------------- Murray moving fast on Stags’ transfer targets chad.co.uk, by John Lomas, Tuesday 26 April 2016 Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray has vowed to get his summer transfer business done early and believes for once the market will favour clubs not players. With two games still to go this season, Murray is already trying to tie down his targets and said the days of players holding out for more money in the summer window are gone. “I think this season more than ever will be unlucky for the player as I do believe it will be a clubs’ summer this summer, a clubs’ transfer window,” he said. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/murray-moving-fast-on-stags-transfer-targets-1-7877412#ixzz46yOvtJXM “With the amount of young players now playing first team football, the fight for jobs is getting bigger every year. “So players need to get contracts sorted and the business done early or you are in the rat race and before you know there is a phone call, another player is available, and you are second best. “That contract isn’t there any more. That’s the horrible nature of the business. “What people sometimes forget is that they are humans, with kids and dogs and cats and they have things they like and mortgages and girlfriends who will spend the money.” He added: “The game is moving very quickly. We have had people contact us and say they are happy to come down and speak to you now and get everything agreed. People are eager now and don’t want to be without a job. “People have gambled in years gone by. They’ve gone - I don’t want that, I will wait a month down the line as I think I’ll get better than that. “I think those days are gone now. You’ll wait five weeks down the line and the deal has gone and you don’t get as much as you were first offered. “I tell our young players you are honoured and privileged to be in the game so be proud about it. Once you risk that chance of leaving the game you are a brave man.” Murray said he wanted to keep the majority of his current squad but strengthen areas in which his side have lacked. “We have the loans that will go back and a few that will be leaving us, but it won’t be anywhere last year as that was obviously starting from scratch,” he said. “But we do need to tweak it and bring bits in. “It’s not necessarily going out and signing five or six top class players. It’s about getting the right ingredients to add to what we’ve already got. “We know what those pieces are and it’s obviously finding them and getting them to come to the club for the right price. “As we haven’t got a recruiting department or scouting department, everything is on us, so it’s tough preparing here and getting out to see games. You can’t work more hours than there are in a day. That is the next step for the club. “But we want our work done early before the summer really kicks in. We know what we want.” With the abolition of the loan windows in England next season. Murray said he would have to run a slightly bigger squad. “With the new loan window rules we may have to recruit a couple of extra bodies as if you get injuries in that gap you are stuck,” he said. “I like a small squad and the chairman likes a small squad. Not that it’s financially better but that it gives you, like we’ve seen, a ridiculous team spirit. “I think you can get through probably with 23/24. That’s 23/24 that on any given day can go in and play. They can start matches for you and keep up standards.” He added: “Our pre-season is virtually finished, plans in place. The boys will be working part of the summer as some of them need to stay on top of things and get fitter. “We need to come back next season ready to go again and I don’t actually want this season to finish right now. I’m in a good mode and the players are in a good mode.” Stags head to Leyton Orient on Saturday with an almost clean bill of health, though Junior Daniel took a knock in training today while Dan Alfei has had further treatment on his hamstring. ------------------- Stags boss Murray may plump for youth in search for No.2 chad.co.uk, by John Lomas Youthful coaches Scott Rickards and Karl Hawley figure highly on Adam Murray’s candidates for his first team coaching set-up next season. Although he is still speaking to more experienced names about joining as his No.2 or in another capacity for next season, Murray is currently enjoying the input of Rickards and Hawley. Rickards, who is in charge of recruitment for the club’s new U21s side, and Hawley, who is currently helping out as a part-time striker coach, are both former playing colleagues of Murray. Rickards has been gaining experience on the first team bench for the last four games and Hawley is expected to do the same before the season ends now his 30-goal Evo-Stik Northern Premier League season with Stourbridge is over, which ended with him picking up three national awards. The search has been on since Stags released first team coach Micky Moore early from his contract early this month. Murray smiled: “We have had Scott for the last four games now and he keeps telling me we’ve not been beaten. I like it. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/stags-boss-murray-may-plump-for-youth-in-search-for-no-2-1-7879945#ixzz473EHIRjF “Karl has been in every day though he obviously can’t do games at the minute as he’s too busy picking up awards elsewhere. “People keep going on at me me about going out and getting experience. But I am not barking down the experience road at the minute if I’m being honest. “I’ve looked at it. I’ve spoken to a few people with a lot of experience and I have to weigh up the balance in my own head. “At times I have made mistakes and, crazy as it is as at the time it hurts, I’ve enjoyed making mistakes as I am learning and I want it to be my mistake. I want to learn myself. If if I fail doing that, it’s my sword isn’t it? “I’ve enjoyed having the two boys around me with Coops (coach Richard Cooper). They are not scared to put me in my place. They are not scared to tell me I am wrong and they are not scared to put their opinion on the table and back it 100 per cent - they’ve probably done that a little bit too much in the last few weeks!” Most importantly Murray said they were working in harmony with the squad. “Both of them have got the boys’ respect,” said Murray. “ I’ve had a lot of the senior pros pull me and say the lads are really happy with this. Both of them are in the game and see the game as the modern era is. “I am not going to be rushed into anything. I will probably have a look at Karl in a matchday situation over the next few weeks and see how that pans out. “I’ll have a good chat with Scott. He is a tricky one as he should be the highest paid player at the club the amount of work he is doing - not just that but the standard he is producing. His work is top drawer.” He added: “It’s a tough decision. There are a few irons in the fires and I have a couple of older heads I am talking to, but it doesn’t mean because you’ve had 40 years in the game it gives you a licence to win. “You look at some of the older managers who have lost their job, not just in our league but in leagues around us, in the last couple of years and you could say - you’re experienced you should be knowing that. But it doesn’t work like that. The game is a horrible business. “So I will take my time and think about what is best for the team and myself and obviously the football club. I will always go with my gut instinct and I will be more than happy with that.” Hawley picked up three awards at the Evo-Stik League Presentation Night, He was named as Supporters’ Player of the Season in a poll held among the members of the Evo-Stik League Facebook Group, ahead of runner-up (and last season’s winner) Robbie Dale of Blyth Spartans, and third-placed Ciaran Kilheeney of Division One North Champions Warrington Town. He was also nominated in the Premier Division Team of the Season, as voted for by the managers of the 24 clubs. To crown a tremendous evening for the Glassboys’ leading scorer, he then picked up the main award of the night, the Evo-Stik League Premier Division Player of the Season, also voted for by the respective managers. Hawley signed for Stourbridge just before the start of the season, having enjoyed a lengthy career in the Football League, most notably with Carlisle United (where he was named League Two Player of the Year in 2006) and Notts County. He has led the way for the Glassboys this season with 30 goals in all competitions. -------------------- Success not money the key to Stags keeping Tafazolli chad.co.uk, by John Lomas Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray believes if he can convince prized centre half Ryan Tafazolli that the club will be challenging for honours next season, the out-of-contract defender will stay. Murray said Tafazolli, 24, had already been offered a good financial package to sign a new deal but believed the decision wasn’t about money and is hopeful he can persuade him to stay and help Tafazolli make a far bigger move when he leaves. “The chairman has offered him a very good deal,” said Murray. “Taff wants to weigh up his options as he wants to play as high as he can. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/success-not-money-the-key-to-stags-keeping-tafazolli-1-7879212#ixzz473ENlV9Z “There is no deadline for him. To deal with Taff, he is not financially driven. “My advice to Taff is I think in the last 12 months, and he agrees with me, that he has come on in leaps and bounds to where he was. “I said within the next 12 months you will miss out the step you are going to make now (if you leave) and you will go to the next one. “Taff wants to know, and I get it, that he is going to be in a successful team here next year. That’s up to the club to prove to him that’s where we want to go. “But Taff wants to stay. He loves working in this environment and he’s became a leader of our group. “The chairman can’t really do much more in terms of his deal. Now all we need to do as a club is make sure Taff understands the vision of where we want to go. “We don’t want to be at the wrong end of the table or no man’s land in the middle of the table. We want to be up there every season and I know we will.” Murray has also begun talks with other members of his current squad about keeping most of them. “I know there has to be negotiations, but the dealings I do are fair,” he said. “The offer is there, think about it, then the offer is gone. I set my sights on players and a lot of my players I’ve got now I want to keep. “But there are a lot of players out there and I haven’t time to waste. “I’ve had a busy 18 months/two years. I didn’t have a summer last season. “I’ve not had a day off for two years and I want to spend what will probably only be a week with my kids this summer. “My players will be offered good deals and if they don’t want to take them it’s no problem. There will be a lot of footballers out there. “I want to keep this team together more than anything, but I’m not going to have my pants pulled down.” ------------------- Stags’ pride at stake at Leyton Orient chad.co.uk, by John Lomas With the play-off dream over, boss Adam Murray believes personal pride will motivate his players to try to finish the season on a high in the last two games, starting at Leyton Orient on Saturday. The Stags manager has challenged his side to try to finish eighth. “Leyton Orient will probably be the first to admit they’ve not had the season that they were wanting - not expecting as I don’t think people in the game expect anything,” said Murray. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/stags-pride-at-stake-at-leyton-orient-1-7882506#ixzz478jpjbyT “It’s not been the season they would have liked as they are a huge club with some good resources behind them. “I can remember it was horrendous conditions when we played them at home. “I can’t remember the last time I went there so I am looking forward to it. I know it’s a big pitch. It will be good to see Hunty (former Stags skipper Nicky Hunt). “It’s another team in and around us, but these last two games are about us. We want to go and beat them. That will be tough but we want to do it. “The boys have kicked in some real form and we are looking forward to the game.” He added: “We’ve finished high in a good place and the tough thing now is that, as much as you ask players to be professional and on it, you have to keep motivating them. Now we can’t get in the play-offs it’s about personal pride. “For some of them it’s about jobs and for some of them it’s about putting themselves in the shop window to have a shirt next season. “It’s all preconceptions isn’t it? If you are a player and you finish the season and you’ve had two nightmares you are going into the pre-season with everyone saying he didn’t have the best of finishes. “So players have to perform and come out like they have for the last five or six games in my eyes, so they come into pre-season giving themselves the best chance of starting the season. “But they are a good group and I don’t have to threaten them. “With the big characters we’ve got, if anyone wanted to take their foot off the gas, I am sure the group would pull them into line and if I did sense someone had stepped over the line they wouldn’t be in the squad.” On last week’s 1-1 home draw with Barnet, he said: “We should have won and it was probably a good summary of our season and the games we need to put to bed to move to the next step. “We had clear cut chances to win the game and one error has cost us a goal. We only gave them one sniff and it cost us. “Now let’s try to finish eighth. Why not? We’ve got two good games to finish off with now - two tough games but ones we can challenge ourselves in. Let’s finish as high as we can. “There’s nothing stopping us. The boys are performing remarkably well at the minute and playing with a lot of confidence and energy. “The players have had a great season individually and as a group and I think they will have learned a lot from the situations they have been in as a team for the first time. That will make us stronger.” Murray said he didn’t see the need to play fringe players to give them a last chance to impress. “No one is going to prove anything to me in two games,” he said. “I’ve had them for a long time. There’s been 44 games and every single day in training I’ve seen them so there’s nothing I don’t know about these lads.” Stags head to Orient with an almost clean bill of health, though Junior Daniel took a knock in training and is a doubt while Dan Alfei has had further treatment on his hamstring. ------------------- Stags youngsters miss out on Orient to clinch title chad.co.uk, by John Lomas None of Mansfield Town’s high-flying youth team players will be blooded at Leyton Orient on Saturday as they stay behind to try to clinch the Football League Youth Alliance title at Grimsby Town (11am). Boss Adam Murray said: “They are obviously in a great position and if the youth team win the league it’s success for Mansfield Town as well, so we have to look at the bigger picture and what’s best for everybody. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/stags-youngsters-miss-out-on-orient-to-clinch-title-1-7882464#ixzz478jzRGKm “So the lads will play for the youth team on Saturday and then we will have a look how things are for the week after. “We wanted to get some of them in the first team before the end of the season, but the guys want the title and to keep their best players down there. I think they will win it on Saturday. “For us to go into the PPP and do this in our first season is actually unthinkable. What people won’t see is the recruitment for it was last minute. It wasn’t as if we planned it. “Scott (Rickards) and Demps (John Dempster) and the boys down there were literally non-stop to get the boys in and to put the group together they have, credit to them and they deserve all the success.” Murray added: “We have four young pros that have been offered deals and they have been excellent. “There is one I can’t mention at the minute as that’s from another club who we’ve taken. This is a three-four-five year project and it is exciting. “It must be one of the biggest steps forward in terms of a season the club has made in a long while. “I went to watch the U16s the other night and you don’t want to speak too early, but there will be a couple of them in and around our first team very quickly. There are some very good players in there. “I know some have been involved in trials for the new batch of scholars and there are some very good players coming in.” -------------------- Murray wants scouting network set up for Stags chad.co.uk, by John Lomas Mansfield Town manager Adam Murray wants to set up a proper scouting network at the club next season. “It is the next step for the football club,” he said. “At the minute we haven’t got anything. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/murray-wants-scouting-network-set-up-for-stags-1-7882594#ixzz47ERGrF6I “Scott (Rickards) does the recruitment for the U18s and the new U21s but to put first team on him as well it would be impossible to do. He’s knackered as it is doing what he’s doing. “So at the minute it’s me, Coops (Richard Cooper) and Karl (Hawley) that have got our eyes on it and it’s a step we need to take for the club to get better. “It’s important for times when you get injuries during the season. “Yes, we do have a database of players, but at any given time you don’t know how that player if performing unless you’ve got eyes out there. “This a massive area for the club. The transfer window changes next year. “It’s going to be window to window before you can do anything, so we are going to have to be very careful and might have to recruit a couple more bodies this summer as if you do get injuries within that gap you are literally stuck. We’ve got to watch our back on that one.” ------------------ Stags want experience for new U21 boss chad.co.uk, by John Lomas Mansfield Town are looking to appoint someone with experience at a good level as the manager of their new U21 side next season. The side will be entered into the reserve league next season and double up as an exit route from youth football to prepare for the first team as well as a side in which Stags can get injured/fringe senior first team players fit. “With the U21s thing, that’s still an ongoing process,” said boss Adam Murray. “We need to get the staff for that sorted out as, although it comes under an U21 banner, it is a reserve team. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/stags-want-experience-for-new-u21-boss-1-7882599#ixzz47EiecYOi “So I’d like to think next season what we missed out for with the first team like game time for people not playing, it will be a massive bonus for us next season. “But that member of staff has to be right as if you are dealing with first team players, with all due respect, you can’t just be Joe Bloggs off the street. You need to know the game. “I will take this forward and I expect a lot of our own (youth) players to be involved.” Murray added: “The youth set-up will continue to grow. I’ve told them the problem they’ve got now, as we have, is you’re going to be expected to do even better next season now. “So it gets tougher. But that’s where the club has got to stand up as well and move forward with us. “In my vision of the project this is we are probably ahead of where I expected us to be now and I am frustrated because we could have been a little bit further but for minor things. But I think our next step will be twice as quick as this one. “If we get what we need and what I’d like to get I honestly believe I can take this club to places it may not have been before. It’s really exciting.” But Murray said patience had to be the key word as the club had to move forward step by step. He explained: “We’ve got a lot of good people working for us at the minute, a lot of good staff, and it’s about sticking to that vision and that process and saying this is where our next point is. We need to move to here. “We can’t get carried away though and say we are A, let’s try to get to F just for the banter. You can’t do that. Sometimes, as hard as it is to be patient, you have to stay with the ride.” ---------------- Hessenthaler to give O’s youngsters Stags chance 28 April 2016, by George Sessions, london24.com Orient youth could feature in final home match of season while rumours suggest a former AC Milan midfielder could be the next manager at Brisbane Road Leyton Orient caretaker Andy Hessenthaler has paid tribute to the youth breaking through at the club and hopes to have some involved this weekend at Brisbane Road. The O’s host Mansfield Town with nothing but pride at stake after their hopes of reaching the play-offs were officially ended last Saturday. A 1-0 loss at Wimbledon ensured that, in a clash where youngsters Scott Kashket and Sandro Semedo were introduced late on in south London. Orient’s under-18s recently won their Merit League One campaign and a few of those players could be involved against the Stags on Saturday. “Andy Edwards, Danny Webb and Richard Thomas have done a fantastic job with the youth to produce what they’re producing right now,” said Hessenthaler. Read more at: http://www.london24.com/sport/football/clubs/leyton-orient/hessenthaler_to_give_o_s_youngsters_stags_chance_1_4514379 “There is a good crop of players coming through, they’ve won their league and are probably the only bright thing to come out of this season. “We will sit down and decide what team to pick for the game. We certainly wouldn’t put loads of them in, but it is worth two or three of them getting an opportunity to show what they can do at senior level.” Josh Koroma made his debut off the bench at Barnet on April 9 and could be involved against Mansfield. Kashket and Semedo could start, while defender Aron Pollock has been in the match-day squad numerous times recently and may also be given a chance. Koroma played the full 90 minutes today as Orient finished their ‘Final Third’ Development League South campaign with a 3-1 win over Gillingham. Michael Clark, Tristan Abrahams and Rian McLean were on target at O’s training ground this afternoon. The victory occurred after rumours began to circulate last night (Wednesday) that former AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso could be the club’s next manager after some bookmakers shortened his odds. But Gazzetta dello Sport believe the former Rangers ace has been offered the opportunity to coach the Kazakhstan national team. This week Gattuso did seem to hint that he might leave his current club Pisa, currently in the Lega Pro - the division below Serie B. “The project has changed since I arrived. People came in with different ideas to mine, focused on a youth project similar to a Football College,” the ex-Milan favourite said according to Football Italia recently. “There is no longer the family atmosphere of when I arrived and Fabrizio Lucchesi was the sole owner.” ------------------- O’s have ‘missed’ Cox 27 April 2016, by George Sessions, london24.com Sammy Moore discusses the injury problems at Brisbane Road and Kevin Nolan losing his managerial role Leyton Orient midfielder Sammy Moore feels they’ve been unlucky with injuries this season and massively missed Dean Cox. Read more at: http://www.london24.com/sport/football/clubs/leyton-orient/o_s_have_missed_cox_1_4512698 A 1-0 defeat at AFC Wimbledon on Saturday means the east Londoners can’t qualify for the play-offs anymore. They’ve dropped down to 14th in the League Two table after their 15th loss of the campaign, which means they’ll be in the fourth tier of English football again next year. It caps a hugely frustrating few weeks for the club and Moore believes losing talisman Cox in November to a cruciate knee ligament injury was a pivotal blow. He also feels not having Jobi McAnuff available since April 2 due to a calf problem hasn’t helped O’s either, he said: “You look at the treatment room at Leyton Orient at the minute and there are some top quality players in there. “I’m not making excuses and not saying if they were available for Saturday then we would have definitely beaten Wimbledon, but injuries haven’t helped. “Dean has been a massive miss because we started well with him and he’s a great professional. Jobi has come in and done ever so well and got an injury now, but I think at Wimbledon we simply weren’t good enough at the top end of the pitch.” Moore didn’t want to be drawn on the decision by the O’s board to take Kevin Nolan’s managerial duties away from him on April 12. But the former Dons man insisted everyone at Brisbane Road will be giving their all in the final two fixtures of the campaign. Mansfield Town visit E10 this weekend, before a final day trip to Yeovil Town on May 7 and the 28-year-old will be doing everything to ensure Orient finish the year strongly. “What has gone on is none of our business, but we’ve all got our own opinion on it,” admitted Moore. “It was disappointing when Kevin went because he had just come into the building and had brought in fresh ideas. “But that is football at the end of the day, we’ve all got to get on with it and we are all professional enough to get on with things. When the XI is picked to go out on the pitch, there won’t be anyone not giving everything or their best to help the club.” Moore’s effort and desire this season is something that definitely can’t be questioned, but recently he’s been unavailable with a bad virus and missed five games during March and April. His team mates only managed to pick up four points in that time, all of them against the bottom two clubs in League Two. While the ex-Dover Athletic midfielder isn’t the most technically gifted player at the club, he’s a grafter and never walks off the pitch having given less than 100 per cent. Orient have missed him in recent weeks and although he wasn’t able to help them get a positive result on Saturday, they need people like him for next season, whoever is in charge of the team. --------------------- Kevin Nolan a doubt for Leyton Orient espnfc.co.uk, by PA Leyton Orient midfielder Kevin Nolan is a doubt for the Sky Bet League Two game at home to Mansfield. Nolan is still struggling with an ankle injury while striker Jay Simpson (back) and midfielder Nigel Atangana (groin) are also likely to miss out. http://www.espnfc.co.uk/english-league-two/match/423234/leyton-orient-mansfield-town/preview O's boss Andy Hessenthaler could use the fixture to field some of the club's youngsters with defender Aron Pollock and winger Sandro Semedo both fighting for a start. Dean Cox and Paul McCallum remain out with knee injuries. Mansfield have midfielder Chris Clements available for the match. Clements has missed the last four games due to a hamstring injury but has been passed fit for this contest. It remains to be seen whether defender Daniel Alfei, also sidelined recently by a hamstring issue, will be able to feature as well. Another doubt is the versatile Colin Daniel, who Stags boss Adam Murray has revealed picked up a knock in training on Tuesday. --------------------- Orient may pitch in youngsters against Stags chad.co.uk, by John Lomas Leyton Orient caretaker manager Andy Hessenthaler is hoping to give some of the club’s youth a run-out against Mansfield Town tomorrow - provided club president Francesco Becchetti allows it. Hessenthaler is currently picking the first team in conjunction with his president and said: “I’m sure we will be giving the youngsters an opportunity in these final two matches, but again that is a conversation that needs to be had with the coaching staff and the owner. “We’ll pick a team accordingly for the last two games and see the season out, which has obviously turned out to be a very disappointing one. Read more: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/orient-may-pitch-in-youngsters-against-stags-1-7882566#ixzz47DY3V900 “Andy Edwards and Danny Webb and Richard Thomas have done a fantastic job with the youth to produce what they’re producing right now. “There is a good crop of players coming through, they’ve won their league as well and the only bright thing to come out of this season probably. “Again we will sit down and decide what team to pick. We certainly wouldn’t put loads of them in, but it is worth two or three of the youngsters getting an opportunity to show what they can do at senior level.” After last week’s defeat against AFC Wimbledon, he admitted: “The committee (Becchetti and coaching staff) was involved in the team selection. “The final say was all of us, the coaching staff and the owner so we did it together.” With player-manager Kevin Nolan demoted to being just a player and results turning against them, like Mansfield, last weekend’s result confirmed the O’s would not be in the play-offs. “I don’t know where it’s gone wrong,” said Hessenthlaer. “A lot of things have happened in the last few weeks, we’ve lost a manager and haven’t got one now. “We have an interim so that hasn’t helped the situation. We are not making excuses because we’ve played 44 games and we’re in the bottom half of the table - that’s not good enough. “It is very frustrating and not acceptable from all of us. We are all a big family in terms of the group like the coaching staff and players and we haven’t produced. “I’m not going to hide behind anything, I’m actually devastated about it for the fans because they deserve more. We should have, at a minimum, been in the play-offs. “It is difficult to answer why things were so flat over Easter. We lost our way and our confidence, but again it is not through a lack of effort, but a lack of quality.” With Nolan’s demotion coming at the same time as he said he was injured, there is much speculation over whether he will line up against the Stags Hessenthaler said: “We don’t know about Kevin’s ankle injury, he didn’t need a scan in the end which is positive. “Hopefully with a little bit of work, he may be available for the last two games. “Jay (top scorer Simpson) has had a bad back, he got a back spasm after the midweek game and struggled to get over it. He should be okay for Saturday, but there was no chance last weekend.” On the club’s and his own future, he concluded: “There are no plans for next season. It is odd we haven’t discussed it, but we wouldn’t talk about it. “I don’t know any more than you guys, the media, in terms of what is happening next year because I’ve not been told anything. “We may well now because the play-offs are over, there might be a conversation now over the next few days. “The dressing room is flat and it has been a testing time. I has been a tough time for me personally over the last few weeks, but we need to keep working hard and wait for the decision from above and go from there.” --------------- PREVIEW: Palmer - 'We have to remain professional' Fri 29 Apr 2016 leytonorient.com O's striker on facing his former side tomorrow Despite the O’s Play-offs now over, striker Ollie Palmer believes it is important to at least end the season on a high and pick up two positive results for the fans. The 1-0 defeat at AFC Wimbldeon brought to an end any Play-Off hopes for Orient, however the 23-year-old is eager for the O’s to show some pride and end with a victory at home against his former side. “Our main aim was to get promoted this season and we haven’t done that so everyone associated with the Club is disappointed - players, fans and staff,” he told Orient PlayerHD. Read more at http://www.leytonorient.com/news/article/os-striker-palmer-on-stags-test-3085586.aspx#UofJjmsLsoj2CRYG.99 “Everyone is frustrated but we have got two games left and we have to remain professional and get two results for the fans at least.” http://www.player.leytonorient.com/latest-news/34d7fda5-7c5b-4032-a461-00ecba36b7d5 Palmer: "My goal tally has not been quite high enough and not where I wanted it to be." Palmer on facing Mansfield: "I'm really close with the centre half so it will be nice to have a battle with a good mate." ------------------ |
Latest | May 2016