Archived News from August 2016
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Murray preparing for run of home games
mansfieldtown.net, 8th August 2016 Stags’ boss Adam Murray expects his squad to be faced with different challenges in the trio of home fixtures which they face during the next week. We will welcome EFL Championship side Blackburn Rovers to One Call Stadium tomorrow night in the EFL Cup, before the Sky Bet League Two double-header against Cheltenham Town and Yeovil Town on Saturday and next Tuesday, respectively. However, Murray says he will focus on one game at a time, with each fixture presenting his side with different hurdles to overcome. “It’s three good games, all with different challenges, all with different things we’re going to have to put in to place, but we just want points,” Murray said at Monday morning’s news conference. Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/2016-17/murray-preparing-for-flurry-of-home-games-3232811.aspx#dhb865Z48Fp9jef4.99 “We want points on the board, home or away, we want points and I think getting Saturday’s first game under our belts will do us the world of good. But our first focus is Blackburn and that’ll be our work today. We need to make sure in between these games we recover right.” After opening the season with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Newport County on Saturday, the manager says it is imperative that he keeps his side as fresh as possible throughout the first month of the season, with a minimum of 52 games ahead of them throughout the 2016/17 campaign. “We’ve got a couple of niggles that we probably won’t risk [against Blackburn] to be honest with you, but the pleasing thing for us, and what we’re going to try and do, is keep everybody fresh throughout the whole month without risking any stupid injuries. “I do believe that if we can keep the majority of this squad fresh for long periods of the season then we can stay competitive. “I think you saw on Saturday that when things weren’t quite going our way or we needed to get a little bit more energy or we needed to up the tempo again, we were allowed to make the changes that enabled us to do that so that’s what we want to keep.” Without wanting to give too much away in regard to team selection for tomorrow evening’s visit of Rovers, the gaffer revealed that three omissions from Saturday’s matchday squad - defender Krystian Pearce, midfielder Jack Thomas and striker Darius Henderson - are all nearing match fitness, but may still not be risked. “They’re all very close. Jack Thomas is very close; whether we throw him in tomorrow, we’ll decide today. It could be a good opportunity to get him some minutes, it might be too much of a risk, so they’ll be things we weigh up today. “[Darius is] somebody that if we don’t feel it’s right, we’re not going to risk it. Darius is going to be a big player for us; if that’s in 24 hours or it’s in two weeks, we’ve got to be very sensible with how we go about it.” Supporters can watch Adam Murray’s news conference on Stags PlayerHD. --------------------- Blackburn Rovers a ‘very dangerous’ opponent for Mansfield Town by Matt Brooks, chad.co.uk, Monday 08 August 2016 Blackburn Rovers arrive at the One Call Stadium on Tuesday night a “very dangerous” opponent, warned Stags boss Adam Murray. As Mansfield Town secured three points at Newport County, Rovers were also involved in a high-scoring game of their own on the opening day of the EFL season. Though they weren’t celebrating three points, or even three goals, but rather licking their wounds from a bruising 4-1 defeat at home to Norwich City. And Murray was cautious when speaking about the prospect that awaits his side. “They are a Championship outfit so they’ll be very dangerous,” he said. “We know we’re in for a very tough game. They’re coming here after getting beat on Saturday to a very good team in Norwich. Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/blackburn-rovers-a-very-dangerous-opponent-for-mansfield-town-1-8056570 “They’ll want to get their season up and running. We’ll be fully aware of that but we’ll take the game in our own perspective.” The cup match against Rovers is the first of three home matches for Stags, with Cheltenham Town and Yeovil scheduled to visit on Saturday and Tuesday next week. Murray said: “It’s three good games, all with different challenges, all with different things we’re going to have to put in place to get points on the board. Home or away we want points. “I think getting Saturday’s first game of the season under our belt will do us the world of good but our first focus is Blackburn - that’ll be our work today (Monday). And added: “We need to make sure that in between these games we recover right. I looked at the results on Saturday and you look at some of the teams in this league, I thought it was going to be tight last year, this year is going to be the tightest it’s been in a lot of years. “We need to be on our mettle for every game we play in.” ----------------- Stags boss Murray keeping cards close to his chest over trio’s fitness by Matt Brooks, chad.co.uk, Monday 08 August 2016 Adam Murray was keeping his cards close to his chest over the fitness of Krystian Pearce and Darius Henderson, as the Mansfield Town boss bids to keep his squad fresh for a busy start to the season. Both players missed Saturday’s 3-2 win over Newport County, along with rising star Jack Thomas, but the Stags manager was giving little away before the EFL Cup clash against Blackburn Rovers at the One Call Stadium. Experienced striker Henderson, who signed just last week, was said to be getting up to speed ahead of the season opener at Rodney Parade while it emerged defender Pearce had sustained a knee injury. And Murray said he wouldn’t risk anyone who was carrying a slight knock for the arrival of Championship side Blackburn Rovers, who suffered a 4-1 defeat to Norwich City on opening day. On Henderson, he said: “(Blackburn tie) is a chance, it’s an opportunity, whether we take it or not you’ll find out at quarter-to-eight tomorrow. He’s someone who if we don’t feel it’s right, we won’t risk it. Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/stags-boss-murray-keeping-cards-close-to-his-chest-over-trio-s-fitness-1-8056511 “He’s going to be a big player for us, if that’s in 24 hours or in two weeks we’ve got to be very sensitive about how we go about it. “We’ve got a minimum of 52 games and we won’t risk anyone.” On Pearce: “He is in contention. If he’s not 100 per cent we won’t risk him.” While Murray will look at Thomas today. Murray said: “They’re all very close. We’ll decide on Jack Thomas today (Monday) it could be a good opportunity to get him some minutes, it could be too much of a risk.” Tuesday night’s first round tie is the second of six games in August and the first of three consecutive home matches for the Stags. Murray added: “What we’re going to try and do is keep everybody fresh for the whole month without risking any stupid injuries. “I believe we can keep the majority of the squad fresh for long periods of the season then we can stay competitive. “You can see on Saturday if things weren’t going our way, or we need to up the tempo again, we’re allowed to make the changes that enable us to do that.” ----------------- ‘Newport win a good learning curve for Stags,’ says Murray by Matt Brooks, chad.co.uk, Monday 08 August 2016 Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray said there were a lot of positives to come out of Saturday’s opening day win at Newport County - and believes there is more to come from his squad. A late goal from Kevan Hurst gave the Stags a 3-2 win at Rodney Parade against a new-look Exiles side, in what Murray had warned would be a tough test for his team before kick-off. And though pleased with the performance of his team, which boasted four new summer recruits, the Mansfield manager was happy with the reaction of his players after full time. He said: “It was a good performance and a good result away from home to pick up three points. We took a lot of positives out of it but it was also a good learning curve for us. Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-news/newport-win-a-good-learning-curve-for-stags-says-murray-1-8056449 “We could get better at a lot of things and it was pleasing to see the boys afterwards not just satisfied with three points. They know their standards can be a lot higher than that. “That’s a positive to take out of the game. We said after the game that sometimes when you’re not firing on all cylinders you’ve still got to take something from the game. “I think if we can make that a habit to still pick points up that will be a positive.” And added: “The tempo of the game, the atmosphere, the intensity, the need for points; you can’t replicate that in pre-season. You can do all the work you want but you can’t get that environment. “You’re still getting up to speed the first month of the season, every team in the country will be. The boys were pleased. Sometimes it’s good to go through little tricky bits because you learn more. “It was an eye-opener, a kick up the backside in many areas but we’ll take the points.” ------------------- Make things right against Mansfield Mon 08 Aug 2016, rovers.co.uk Jack Byrne is keen to put things right when Rovers face Mansfield Town in the EFL Cup tomorrow night. After kicking off the season in disappointing fashion on Saturday, Rovers have the chance to make amends in Tuesday night's cup clash. The midfielder feels the team need to learn from the opening day defeat, with the match against the Stags the perfect opportunity to bounce back. "Obviously losing 4-1 to Norwich isn't the best start to the season, but these things happen," the Irishman told Rovers Player. Read more at http://www.rovers.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/jack-byrne-mansfield-town-efl-cup-3232555.aspx#qbXltUsD5Re1xO8K.99 "Thankfully we have a game now on Tuesday where we can put things right and hopefully get a good result. "We'll learn from it, there are another 45 games, there is a long way to go. "We'll be on the training field working hard for Tuesday, the manager will put his ideas across and whatever team he selects I'm sure we'll go out and put a good result in and try and get the win." It was an afternoon of mixed emotions for Byrne, who enjoyed making his Championship debut. "Hopefully there'll be better games than that to show what I can do," he added. "But I also know that we have a really good squad with loads of players who can get people up off their seats in the stadium. "Hopefully I can be one of them, the fans have been great to me and gave me a great reception when I came on. It'll be a day I'll never forget, my first game in England. "I'm really enjoying it, it is a great learning experience, everyone has been great to me." ---------------------- |
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