Archived News from September 2017
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GRIMSBY PREVIEWS
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Boss prepared for big week ahead
mansfieldtown.net, Thursday 07 September 2017 Stags' boss Steve Evans is looking forward to a 'big seven days' which consists of games against three sides who he thinks will be in the top eight of Sky Bet League Two come the end of the season. We entertain Grimsby Town on Saturday (1.00pm kick-off) and Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday (7.45pm) in back-to-back home games before travelling to Sincil Bank to face Lincoln City on Saturday 16 September (1.00pm kick-off). And the manager believes it will be a challenging seven days for his squad, starting with the visit of the Mariners on Saturday. "It's a big seven days for us. Two derbies and sandwiched in between will be Gareth Ainsworth's team, so it's a real tough seven days," the gaffer said. https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2017/september/boss-prepared-for-tough-week-ahead/ "It won't be about what Grimsby do that decides where this game goes. It will be about what we do. What are we expecting? A typical Russell Slade team. "They'll be very organised, they'll be disciplined and they'll be strong on the back end of a good result last week. "They'll be one of the teams that I'd expect certainly to be in the top eight; that could be first, it could be eighth. "Our next seven days is against three teams who, in my opinion, will be in the top eight." The former Leeds United boss has selection decisions to make after being impressed by some of the performances in the mid-week Central League match against Rotherham United, including that of captain Zander Diamond, who completed 90 minutes on his return from a groin injury. "Paul (Raynor) watched the reserve game, so I've got a good report from that and I watched the footage from that last night of that reserve game, so I've got an idea of where people are. "We just want to make sure that we, as a management team, affect the right decisions for the team against Grimsby on Saturday. "I watched the game - I was told he (Diamond) was excellent by Paul and he was excellent. We want our captain in the group. "When our captain's not in the group, it just takes something away from us, but if he trains properly today and tomorrow, he'll be back in contention for Saturday." The gaffer hopes to reward supporters for their loyal backing with a victory against the Mariners on Saturday, which kicks off at the earlier time of 1.00pm. "The people I want in full voice are the Stags' fans. I want us to reward them on Saturday with a real good performance and I said this before Forest Green and I want it repeated: I want to send them home on Saturday early evening with a real good feeling about their weekend. "My only message to the Stags' supporters today is: performances do not lie. Performances deliver results and promotions. "Over a season, you're never unlucky because your performances are not good enough. Our performances have not got the results they deserve. Continue the performances and the results will get delivered." Supporters will be able to login to iFollow Stags to watch the manager's full news conference later this afternoon. ------------------- Stags boss believes penalty hoodoo will end chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Thursday 07 September 2017 After three costly penalty misses already this season, Mansfield Town manager Steve Evans believes his side will score the next one. After Kane Hemmings had followed in the footsteps of Jimmy Spencer and Danny Rose at Carlisle United last weekend, Evans joked he would ask his wife to take the next one. Back at work after a couple of days off ill, Evans smiled: “We practised when I had a couple of days off earlier in the week. “I took her into the garden and she is on it - five out of five! Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/stags-boss-believes-penalty-hoodoo-will-end-1-8742047 “I said when the pressure comes can she stick it in and then get a shopping trip in? “If you don’t laugh sometimes you cry and it was a bit of a mixture on Saturday. “You look at our penalty at Carlisle and it’s a good penalty and a good save - that doesn’t often get recognised. “But the reality is when we are given an opportunity to score from 12 yards we need to do it. The boys have been working hard on it this week. But we look at it every week of every season and that will continue.” New signing Hemmings remains the first choice taker, though Evans said that could change at any time. “Kane’s penalty taking was magnificent during the week. “The reason we selected Kane was that he didn’t miss one in training. He put them into every position of the goal against two very good goalkeepers. “It happens, but we go again and let’s see if the referee can give us one on Saturday. “We’ll have a fresh eyes approach to it today and tomorrow and we’ll see what it looks like.” On Saturday Stags take on visiting Grimsby Town and Evans added: “The match referee, Paul Tierney, is a strong referee but I don’t think he’s ever given my team a penalty - so Saturday could be a first. “I am sure whoever steps up on Saturday, if we’re given one, they will put it in the net.” ------------------- Stags start week of clashes against trio of ‘promotion rivals’ chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Thursday 07 September 2017 Mansfield Town continue a tough seven-game September with three games in eight days against sides boss Steve Evans expects to be among Stags’ promotion rivals. Grimsby Town visit on Saturday (1pm) before Wycombe are at the One Call Stadium on Tuesday night ahead of a trip to Lincoln City the following Saturday. “Our next seven days is against three teams that, in my opinion, will be in the top eight,” said Evans. “These months come and you have to take a large percentage of points. Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/stags-start-week-of-clashes-against-trio-of-promotion-rivals-1-8742401 “When we come out of September the league table will then have taken on a little bit of shape and have a little bit of credibility. It has absolutely zilch credibility at the moment. “The team that are in the bottom three won’t be in the bottom three, they may be in perhaps the top 10 or 12 when it comes to the end of the season. And there will be teams in the top six or seven at the moment that won’t finish in the top half of the table. “I have said if we are in that top six or seven after 12-14 games I will be absolutely delighted as I know from January to the end of the season this group will have properly settled and be ready for the challenges in the most important part of the season.” Grimsby will bring over 1,400 fans to the game on Saturday and Evans smiled: “I will get my normal banter from the Grimsby fans. “I have always said supporters up and down the country sing your name because they know you. “But the people I want in full voice are the Stags fans. I want to reward them on Saturday with a really good performance. “It won’t be about what Grimsby do that decides where this game goes. It will be about what we do. “We expect a typical Russell Slade team. They will be very well-organised, they’ll be disciplined, they’ll be strong. “They come on the back end of a good result last week. “They’re one of the teams I’d expect to be in the top eight. I thought that the day they appointed Russell - no disrespect to anyone else. “I saw he’d got the job and thought ‘here we go, Grimsby are suddenly going to be in the mix’.” ------------------- Diamond back for Stags, but no guarantees over starting place chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Thursday 07 September 2017 Skipper Zander Diamond looks set for a return to the Mansfield Town squad for Saturday’s visit of Grimsby Town. But there are no guarantees he will walk back into the centre of defence where Krystian Pearce and David Mirfin have been in fine form. Diamond proved he had shaken off a slight strain in the reserve game at Rotherham on Tuesday and manager Steve Evans said: “I was told by Paul (assistant, Raynor) he was excellent. I watched the game back and he was excellent. Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/diamond-back-for-stags-but-no-guarantees-over-starting-place-1-8742393 “We want our captain in the group. When he’s not in the group it just takes a little something away from us. “If he trains properly today and tomorrow he will be back in contention for Saturday. “But I don’t have to change it, though, and one thing you have to say is that Krystian Pearce has stood up to the challenge. “He picked himself last season. He used to turn up and get ready, he didn’t wait for the team! “Him and David Mirfin have been excellent. Every time David has worn a Stags shirt in a competitive game he has been outstanding.” Evans kept his side unchanged for last Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Carlisle but several players staked a firm claim for a start with their performances in the reserves. “Paul gave me a good report on the reserve game,” said Evans. “I have watched the footage of that and now have an idea of where people are. “We just want to make sure we make the right decisions and pick the right team to play Grimsby on Saturday as it’s a big seven days for us with two derbies sandwiching playing Gareth Ainsworth’s team. It is a really tough seven days. “Nothing beats competitive minutes and going up against seven or eight lads who ply their trade in the Championship was good for us on Tuesday. “Despite the result, we had a dominating performance and there were three or four very good individual performances trying to get into the team on Saturday. That’s why we play these games.” ------------------ Mansfield Town will keep targets on January radar chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Thursday 07 September 2017 Two players targeted by Mansfield Town boss Steve Evans before last week’s transfer deadline day will remain on his radar for January. Evans successfully brought in Millwall midfielder Calum Butcher, who netted on his debut at Carlisle last Saturday just two minutes after coming on as a substitute. But Evans had also mentioned chasing a young striker at one of his former clubs and a promising young talent from the Championship he hadn’t expected to become available. Evans said: “To be fair Carolyn was talking quite a lot with Millwall to get Calum done and dusted. Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-will-keep-targets-on-january-radar-1-8743025 “So, quite rightly, she called me on that afternoon to say all the focus had to go on Calum and can we go as we are without the others? I said yes. “But we will keep an eye on the others. They didn’t go elsewhere. “The young striker has stayed where he is and the young man we could have brought from a Championship club decided to stay and fight for a place to get in his team. “I don’t think that’s going to be achievable for him. We’ll look at it again in January.” --------------- Mansfield Town loan plans could change chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Thursday 07 September 2017 Plans to let one or two more Mansfield Town players out on loan to National League clubs could be put on hold if the players continue to impress in the reserves. Stags were expected to let three fringe players out on loan last week, but only defender George Taft went before the transfer window closed. However, that rule does not apply to non-League and manager Steve Evans said: “The window for those clubs has just opened up, so we’ll address it after the weekend. Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-loan-plans-could-change-1-8743013 “There are one or two that need to go and get some games and it’s our job to get them into the office and give them that opportunity. “But it has to be said there was one or two lads that played in the reserves on Tuesday at Rotherham and did themselves no harm whatsoever. “They were excellent, so I rule nothing in, I rule nothing out. “All I’d say is that our job here is to pick a team that could be successful. It’s never about where you come from, what you earn or what your name is. It’s all about what performances you can deliver. “We have a lot of players here on top of their game and who are playing exceptionally well.” -------------- Mansfield Town boss Steve Evans on how he deals with the doubts chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Thursday 07 September 2017 Steve Evans said he always looked at himself very closely before blaming anyone else when things went wrong. The Mansfield Town manager is seen as hugely successful, with nine promotions under his belt, but admitted you always have doubts in your head over decisions you make. “The temptation is always to make rash decisions in football,” he said. “If you are not very emotional about football what are you? You’re laid back - and football is not a sport in which you can be laid back. You have to be passionate. “Every day you doubt a decision you’ve made - every time you don’t win a game as a manager. “You have to look in before you look out. Supporters don’t see that side of Steve Evans and I don’t expect them to. “Just go and speak to the Carter family at Crawley, go and speak to Tony Stewart at Rotherham, go and speak to Mr Cellino at Leeds, go and speak to John and Carolyn Radford now - I look in before I look out.” He continued: “Did you get the team selection right? Did you get the formation right? Were the substitutes right? Did you get the tactics right? There is a whole raft of things as a manager. “You look in before you look out, then when I do look out the first person I look at is Paul Raynor. “We live as one, we think as one. We should do. Then we look to our staff and the squad. “There are expectations on all of us from the chairman down. I have expectations on them to deliver me the players. There’s expectations from them on me to deliver for my staff and players, and there’s expectations on the players. “We are Team Mansfield. We make it a part of our DNA. “We are quite happy to point the finger at people making individual errors. And if we get it tactically wrong, we’ll say we got it wrong. We are all in this together.” Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/mansfield-town-boss-steve-evans-on-how-he-deals-with-the-doubts-1-8743009 ---------------- Saturday can be springboard for Stags - Angol mansfieldtown.net, Thursday 07 September 2017 Frontman Lee Angol is hoping for Saturday's Sky Bet League Two match against Grimsby Town (1.00pm kick-off) to act as a springboard to kickstart the Stags' season. Angol has started each of the Stags' five League games following his summer move from Peterborough United, scoring two goals along the way. And the former Boreham Wood striker is hoping that Saturday's game marks the start of a successful period for the Stags. "It'll be a great game and hopefully a great atmosphere. Hopefully we can use that game as a springboard to start getting our performances in, getting the wins in and getting win after win after win," Angol said. https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2017/september/saturday-can-be-springboard-for-success---angol/ "Winning becomes a habit and obviously once you start building wins, we'll become an unstoppable force. "We've just got to keep working hard and obviously chances will come in games and we've just got to take them. "We've got to stay focussed. We've got to take it game-by-game and get three points." The 23-year-old bagged his first competitive goal for the Stags in the 2-1 defeat to Accrington Stanley last month, before scoring a week later in the draw against Luton Town. Now Angol wants to score at a frequent rate throughout the season to maximise the Stags' chances of success. "Of course I want more [goals] but it's one of them ones where you've just got to keep going. If I had no goals by this point or ten goals by this point, it still doesn't mean anything. "If I'm on ten goals, it doesn't mean I'll get 1,000 goals. It doesn't matter right now, it's a long season." Stags now have a quintet of strikers following the loan acquisition of Kane Hemmings from Oxford United last month and Angol believes that the duo, in addition to Danny Rose, Jimmy Spencer and Omari Sterling-James, offer something different for boss Steve Evans to call upon. "He (Hemmings) offers something different to the other strikers we've got in the team. "Now we've got a bunch of strikers who can all offer different things and now we've got to start getting the partnerships going and attacking the league. "It's about taking our chances and tightening up as a team, not letting teams through as easily, then we'll start getting results. "We're a new team but we can't use that excuse every week. There's got to come a time when we'll all click. I feel like once we do click, or do finally gel, then our performances will just go [up]." Supporters can login to iFollow Stags to view the frontman's full news conference. -------------------- Lee Angol hopes Mansfield Town can kickstart winning streak Mansfield Town striker Lee Angol is hoping a win over visiting Grimsby Town on Saturday can see the Stags head off on a winning streak at last. After only one win in the first five League Two games, Stags have a tough seven-game September. Grimsby will bring 1,400 away fans on Saturday and Angol said: “It will be a big atmosphere and hopefully we can use the game as a springboard and start getting win after win. “That’s what it’s all about. It’s what the fans want to see and it’s what we want to see. Winning becomes a habit.” On the tough September schedule, he added: “We have to stay focused. We are not going to look any further than the next game. We’ll take it game by game, get three points then move on to the next one. Stags drew 1-1 at Carlisle last weekend, but he admitted: “It could have been all three points. We seem to be doing enough in games to get the win but then we are not winning so we’re obviously not doing enough. “We need to take more of our chances and tighten up as a team and not let teams through us easily. “Obviously we are a new team, but you can’t keep using that excuse every week. “There has to come a time when we finally click or gel. “One of our best performances was against Luton when we were 2-0 up but ended up drawing. We have to learn to soak up the pressure and see games out for the win. If we had won on that day a lot of thing since would have been different. “I think we are starting to see us come together now, but there are a few errors we need to tighten up on as a team. “It’s too early to look at the table still. There are a lot of games to come so I am not paying any attention to it yet.” The arrival of Kane Hemmings on loan from Oxford United brings even more competition for a starting place. But Angol said: “He is another good team mate and obviously offers something different to the other strikers we’ve got here. “All our strikers offer different things and now it’s just about getting a partnership going. “The gaffer may feel for certain games one striker is more suitable than another.” Another new team mate last weekend was new signing Calum Butcher, who arrived on transfer deadline day from Millwall. He netted within two minutes of making his debut as a sub and Angol said: “Good for him. I’ve known Calum for a long time now - he is a great lad and obviously a great addition to the team.” Angol’s message to Stags fans for Saturday was: “Make it loud for us and hopefully that will give us the energy to get the win.” Read more at: http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/sport/football/lee-angol-hopes-mansfield-town-can-kickstart-winning-streak-1-8742947 --------------- Carolyn Radford delighted to have England team at One Call Stadium Mansfield Town CEO Carolyn Radford was delighted to see international football at the One Call Stadium this week. Germany beat England U19s and, despite a problem with a floodlight in the second half, the evening proved a huge success. Carolyn Radford said: “It was a great honour for the club to host England U19s and Germany U19s in mid-week after weeks of hard work and planning leading up to the match. Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/carolyn-radford-delighted-to-have-england-team-at-one-call-stadium-1-8743027 “To stage prestigious games like this helps imprint Stags further on the football map and is recognition of the healthy progress we are making as a club. “Spectators were treated to an end-to-end game full of heart and quite clearly both nations have some really promising players. “We were pleased with the overall attendance and hope many in the crowd were encouraged by the matchday experience at One Call Stadium. We want them to come and enjoy a first game at our home ground this season in what is already turning out to be an exciting campaign.” She added: “The whole day went very smoothly, barring a technical glitch in one of the floodlights! We received overwhelming positive feedback from the Football Association in the way the whole operation was conducted. “We’ll be looking to host more games of this nature in the future as and when they present themselves. Overall, it was a really positive advert for both England and Germany and Mansfield Town Football Club.” Stags manager Steve Evans said: “Credit first and foremost to our chief executive Carolyn Radford. I know what she delivers for this football club in terms of getting me the personnel I want to work with. “But she has worked really hard to bring an England fixture to the One Call Stadium. “I wasn’t here but I believe the young Lions were unlucky against a very good German team. I’ve watched some of the highlights from it.” ---------------- Pre Mansfield Press Conference Russell Slade talks to the press ahead of Saturday's trip to Mansfield Town. grimsby-townfc.co.uk Russell Slade talks to the press ahead of the trip to The One Call Stadium on Saturday. The Town boss kicked off his pre Mansfield press conference with an update on his injured players. He said: “Wooley [Martin Woolford] had a bit of an ankle injury and a foot injury to Karleigh Osbourne - so we’ll wait and see. Tom Bolarinwa, who didn’t make the bench, also picked up a bit of a calf injury. There’s nothing major in those injuries but we’ll wait and see if they are going to be fully fit and available for the weekend." https://www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk/news/2017/september/pre-mansfield-press-conference/ The Town boss will have Danny Collins and Sam Jones back at his disposal after completing suspensions. The gaffer said: “Those who started the game [Crewe] will give themselves a very good chance of maybe starting again.” Long-term absentees Jamey Osborne (knee) and Akwasi Asante (groin) are both making good progress, according to the Town boss. Akwasi warmed up with the players today and did some ball-work, while Osborne is still quite a way off and Slade doesn’t expect to see him back in action this side of Christmas. The Town boss is expecting Akwasi to be back in full time training by the end of the month. Asked about the trialists that are currently with the club - Reece Hall-Johnson, Armend Kabashi, André Olukanmi and Elie Junior Akobeto, Slade said: “There’s a couple that have done okay. Whether we have another look before we bring closure to that, we will see.” Asking if all the pressure would be on Mansfield after their summer spending spree, he said: “Fair play to the chairman at Mansfield and Steve Evans, they are having a right go at it, have got a very strong squad. They’ve got lots of depth and that’s cost a fair amount of money to assemble, I’m sure.” Asked about Mansfield boss Evans, the Town boss replied. “I’ve encountered Steve in many, many battles - in all of the leagues - from the Conference to the Championship. I’ve probably played against him more than most. “You have to respect what he has done. His teams are always on the front foot and in your face. I’ve had my run-ins with him, yes, course I have, but that’s the nature of the game.” --------------------- |
Latest | September 2017