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Archived News from August 2016

ADI YUSSUF JOINS CRAWLEY ON LOAN UNTIL JAN 22
11th August 2016 19:16



Frontman Yussuf joins Crawley on loan
mansfieldtown.net, 2nd August 2016

Striker Adi Yussuf has today joined Crawley Town on loan until 22 January 2017.

The 24-year-old, who signed a year ago from Oxford City, scored five goals in 26 substitute appearances in Sky Bet League Two last season.

"Adi had a half-decent season last year but didn't obtain a start in the line up," said manager Adam Murray.

Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/2016-17/yussuf-join-crawley-on-loan-3221305.aspx#Add0OuisPzLIMJKm.99

"He's come back this pre-season and has worked hard over the summer and feels like he should be playing.

"Adi feels he's ahead of the other three senior pro's here and doesn't want to sit on the bench. He wants to play games, which I totally understand. He has asked if he can move on to get game time and we're fully understanding of that."

Meanwhile, the manager added that both he and the chairman have been 'working very hard to bring another striker to the club'.

Yussuf will not be eligible to play against the Stags when the two teams meet at One Call Stadium on Saturday 19 November.

The transfer will be completed subject to EFL approval.

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Stags thrust into last minute striker search for Yussuf replacement
by John Lomas, chad.co.uk, Tuesday 02 August 2016

Mansfield Town are searching for a new striker on the eve of the new season after Adi Yussuf asked to go out on loan for regular football.

Fans were asking where the 24-year-old striker was when the annual team picture was shot at the weekend and tonight Adam Murray confirmed he had agreed for Yussuf to join League Two rivals Crawley Town until 22nd January.

Stags begin the season with an away trip to Newport County on Saturday (3pm) and Murray said he was hoping to bring in a replacement for Yussuf.

“Adi had a half-decent season last year but he didn’t get one start which at the time I didn’t feel he was up to that starting berth,” he said.

Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/stags-thrust-into-last-minute-striker-search-for-yussuf-replacement-1-8046737

“He has come back this season, and I know he has worked hard over the summer, and he feels like he should be playing at the minute.

“He feels he is ahead of the other three senior pros and he doesn’t really want to sit on the bench. He wants to play games which I totally understand.

“So he came and asked if he could move on to get that game time and we are fully understanding of that.”

Murray has his eye on a replacement and is working frantically with chairman John Radford to make that happen.

“We are looking at bringing somebody in,” said Murray.

“Me and the chairman have both been working very hard over the last couple of days to get that body in.

“If we can, we need to go into the season with four senior strikers.”

He added: “We have got the emergence of Zayn Hakeem, but the kid is only 17 and we want him to progress from where we were last season.

To do that I don’t want to put too much pressure on Zayn.

“He is going to have enough peaks and troughs throughout the season as will always happen with a 17-year-old.

“We need to make sure we give him the breathing space to make that, when he is having a tough time, be able to come out the pressure of not having to start games.

“If we can get a fourth senior striker that we are happy can start games and can affect what this team is about we will look to do that.

“The chairman is working very pro-active at the minute to try to make it happen. If we could add the body we want to the squad it would be a beneficial one in my eyes.

“But like I’ve said over the last couple of weeks the squad is a very tight and strong-knit group, so it won’t be the end of the world if we didn’t.”

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Crawley Town sign ex Leicester City and Burton Albion striker on loan from Mansfield
crawleynews.co.uk, By K_Seckington, August 02, 2016

Crawley Town have signed former Leicester City and Burton Albion striker Adi Yussuf on a six-month loan from Mansfield Town.

The 23-year-old started his career at the Foxes before moving on to Tamworth, Burton, Lincoln, Oxford City and then Mansfield.

Head Coach Dermot Drummy said: "Adi got his chance back in the League last season after doing really well for Oxford City and when I watched him a few times for Mansfield I was impressed. He's got good pace and movement and he will chip in with his fair share of goals as well.

Read more at http://www.crawleynews.co.uk/crawley-town-sign-ex-leicester-city-and-burton-albion-striker-on-loan-from-mansfield/story-29577559-detail/story.html?#GExxuRGs8L1BP3eK.99

"He's looking forward to a new challenge with us. He will give us another good option in the squad and he's playing at a level he knows well and can perform at. We've worked hard to get this one over the line and I'm delighted he's now a Crawley Town player."

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Stags are ready to fight for points - boss
mansfieldtown.net, 2nd August 2016

Stags’ chief Adam Murray says his men are 'up for the challenge of three points', speaking ahead of this Saturday's League Two curtain raiser at Newport County.

The manager and his squad will travel to Rodney Parade this Saturday (3pm kick-off) in our first competitive fixture since the end of last season.

And the manager believes everybody at One Call Stadium is optimistic for the 2016/17 season and the summer additions he’s brought in to the club have improved the squad.

“I think it’s very positive [the mood], there’s a lot of energy in the group at the minute. We’ve had a good pre-season, we’ve had a fair few games and we’re up for the challenge of three points,” Murray said.

Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/2016-17/boss-looking-forward-to-start-of-season-3221432.aspx#EBEyzyFbSPi48Dj5.99

“I think the biggest thing that this squad’s gained is 12 months’ experience together, I don’t think you can put a price on that. So the core of the group has had 12 months together and 12 months of working with myself, so that’s the major positive.

“I think we’ve added a little bit more quality to the group over the summer, but the team spirit and the energy in the camp is still as high, if not higher, than it was last season.

“The new boys have come in [and] settled in really well - it’s like they’ve been here for a long, long time.”

Focussing on the first game of the season, Murray says the Stags’ opponents, Newport County, have also improved since last season and he’s expecting the match to be ‘cagey’.

“Obviously [they’ve] made a lot of signings, a lot of solid signings. I think towards the back end of last season, Warren (Feeney, Newport manager) got them playing for himself and he added a lot of energy and a lot of grit to them, and I think they’ll be a strong side this season.

“It’s always a tough place to go. Hopefully, [because it's the] first game of the season, the pitch might be a bit better than it was last season, at the back end.

“[In] the first game of the season everyone’s still ‘finding their feet’ so we’re expecting a very cagey game but one that we’re prepared for. We’ve got a lot of tools in our armoury and we’ll decide which ones we’ll need to use for our enemy on Saturday.”

After left-back Mal Benning completed 90 minutes against Worksop Town last Saturday following his return from the injury which kept him out of the Stags’ previous three pre-season friendlies, the manager says his squad is looking strong ahead of the season’s opener, with the possibility of a further addition.

“We’ve got nigh-on a full strength squad to go into the weekend. We’re making sure that we get everyone’s fitness levels up to where they need to be in terms of minute-time and training time.

“So we’re looking quite healthy on that front. We need to make sure that the boys who have missed a couple of games and missed a little bit of training do the work this week."

On a potential new signing, the manager added: “There’s a possibility of one coming in. The chairman’s working very proactive at the minute to try and make that happen. If we could add the body that we want to the squad, it would be a beneficial one in my eyes.”

Supporters can view Adam Murray’s midweek news conference, in full, on Stags PlayerHD.

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Stags boss Murray mulls over selection dilemmas for Newport opener
by John Lomas, chad.co.uk

Mansfield Town manager Adam Murray admitted he still has one or two decisions to make on the side to face Newport County in the new season’s curtain-raiser on Saturday. Murray should have all but a full squad to choose from and said:

“It will be chosen on everything - fitness, form, the environment we are going into, the opposition we are coming up against and the game plan we put in place.

Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/stags-boss-murray-mulls-over-selection-dilemmas-for-newport-opener-1-8048661

“We are lucky in that we have had a lot of high performers over pre-season, so we are still mulling over a few positions and a couple of shapes ready to go for Saturday. It’s a nice headache to have.”

On their Welsh opponents, he added: “They have obviously made a lot of solid signings.

“Towards the back end of last season Warren (boss Feeney) got them playing for him. He added a lot of energy and a grit to them and I think they will be a strong side this season.

“It’s always a tough place to go and hopefully first game of the season the pitch might be a little better than it was when we went there at the back end of last season.

“First game of the season everyone is finding their feet so we are expecting a cagey game, but one we are prepared for. We have a lot of tools in our armoury and we will decide which ones we need to use for the enemy on Saturday.”

With pre-season over and new faces successfully integrated, Murray is excited about finally getting into the real action.

“It’s all very positive here. There is a lot of energy in the group at the minute,” he said.

“Obviously at this time of the season everyone is optimistic and we want to get going now.

“We’ve had a good pre-season. We’ve had a fair few games and we are up for the challenge of three points.

“The biggest thing this squad has gained is 12 months experience together, I don’t think you can put a price on that.”

He continued: “The core of the group have had 12 months together and 12 months of working with myself. That’s the major positive.

“I think we’ve added a little bit more quality to the group over the summer.

“But the team spirit and energy in the camp is still as high if not higher than last season. The new boys have settled in really well and it’s like they’ve been here for a long time.

“That’s always our aim in pre-season and I think we’ve managed to capture that again.”

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Latest | August 2016