Archived News from August 2019
|
DEMPSTER, LOGAN PREVIEW NEWPORT
|
 |
|
‘Desire and quality’ key to success, says manager
mansfieldtown.net, Tuesday 30 July 2019 Stags’ boss John Dempster has called for his charges to display ‘desire and quality’ this term, ahead of the start of the 2019-20 season away to Newport County on Saturday. The manager will take charge of his first competitive fixture as manager of Mansfield Town this weekend at Rodney Parade, following his appointment as first team boss in May of this year. The gaffer has asked that his players ‘give him everything’ over the course of the campaign. “We’ll be really encouraging the players to focus on the short term - I think if you take your eye off that, then that’s when you can run into issues,” he said. “We’ll certainly be emphasising that to the players. They [squad] are excited and can’t wait to get started. https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2019/july/gaffer-pre-newport/ “You always look forward to that first game. We have some history with Newport and have had some good ding-dongs with them! I’m sure Saturday will be no different. “[I’m expecting] a good atmosphere - a hostile atmosphere, and an intense game, especially in the first 15 minutes. “We’re confident - we’re not overconfident - but we are confident going into the game. We feel like we have strengths within our team that can hurt Newport, and we’re going there to return with all three points. “[The target is] to get to the next level and win as many football matches as we can. It sounds obvious, but that’s the clear goal. “Desire and quality - if you can put those two things together, you get success. You need a team of players that have an inner drive to be successful. “You need players that have quality, that can unlock a door and score goals. Players that put their body on the line or read the game when it’s going against you. “Give me everything [is my message to the players]. Don’t leave anything in the dressing room on a matchday. Go out and give it your all and you’ll 100 percent have my support.” The manager also reflected on Monday night’s ‘Evening With John Dempster & Lee Glover,’ in which supporters were invited to pose questions to the management team in the club’s 1861 Suite at One Call Stadium. John Dempster says that he ‘can’t speak highly enough’ of the Mansfield faithful, adding that the fans ‘deserve’ success. “It was an enjoyable night [Evening With John Dempster & Lee Glover]. The supporters were very positive and excited,” he added. “It was a great reception that they gave us. “At the end, they spoke to us individually and were wishing us and the players well. “It was a really enjoyable night and we had some good stories about Brian Clough from Lee Glover. “I can’t speak highly enough of them [supporters]. They’ve been supportive of me over the last seven years, never mind the last two month. They deserve success.” The boss also gave an update from the treatment room ahead of Saturday’s big kick-off. “Hayden White was back out on the grass yesterday, doing some really intense physical work - so he’s looking good. “I expect him to return to training with the team within the next week. “Willem [Tomlinson] is probably about two weeks away. He’s still got a bit of swelling in his knee, so until that completely goes, it’s difficult to move onto the next stage of his rehab. “Matt [Preston] trained as normal yesterday. It was more impact [injury against Rangers] and he had a little bit of a cut. He managed to train yesterday and he’ll train again today. “It’s difficult to give an exact date [Craig Davies’ return]. He had an operation on both ankles to try and improve the way he was feeling, but he still suffers from a lot of pain in one ankle. “Until that pain disappears, with the help of the medical team, we again can’t move onto the next stage of his rehab. “Bobby [Olejnik] is doing well. He had a little bit of a setback before Portugal, so in the early part of the ten days he was a bit down in the dumps as his knee had a bit of swelling. “But since then, it’s been really positive and he’s been doing more work and building up gradually. We expect him to be back in the next couple of months.” iFollow Stags subscribers can watch the manager’s interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later today. ----------------- John Dempster urges Mansfield Town players to show the desire needed for promotion chad.co.uk, by MARK DUFFY Mansfield Town boss John Dempster has urged his players to show him the desire and quality needed to see them to promotion this season. Mansfield Town boss John Dempster has urged his players to show him the desire and quality needed to see them to promotion this season. The Stags open their campaign at Newport County on Saturday in what will be Dempster’s first ever competitive game as a manager. And now, having overseen a positive pre-season and had his side rated as favourites for promotion by the bookies, he wants his players to stand up and be counted. He said: “Desire and quality - if you can put those two things together, you get success. You need a team of players that have an inner drive to be successful. “My message to the players is to give me everything. Don’t leave anything in the dressing room on a matchday. Go out and give it your all and you’ll 100 percent have my support.” Dempster says taking small steps will be a priority for Stags this season as they once again attempt the huge task of being one of the top three teams at the end of the mammoth 46-game season. He said: “We’ll be really encouraging the players to focus on the short term - I think if you take your eye off that, then that’s when you can run into issues. https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/john-dempster-urges-mansfield-town-players-to-show-the-desire-needed-for-promotion-1-9906960 “We’ll certainly be emphasising that to the players. They are excited and can’t wait to get started. “You always look forward to that first game. “We have some history with Newport and have had some good ding-dongs with them! “I’m sure Saturday will be no different. “I expect a good atmosphere - a hostile atmosphere, and an intense game, especially in the first 15 minutes. “We’re confident - we’re not overconfident - but we are confident going into the game. We feel like we have strengths within our team that can hurt Newport, and we’re going there to return with all three points. “The target is to get to the next level and win as many football matches as we can. “It sounds obvious, but that’s the clear goal. “You need players that have quality, that can unlock a door and score goals. Players that put their body on the line or read the game when it’s going against you.” Dempster also paid tribute to the club’s supporters, who turned out in large numbers for a Q&A session at the One Call Stadium on Monday night, as well as having shown him great backing since he was announced as manager. He said: ““I can’t speak highly enough of them. They’ve been supportive of me over the last seven years, never mind the last two month. They deserve success. “It was an enjoyable night on Monday. “The supporters were very positive and excited. “It was a great reception that they gave us. “At the end, they spoke to us individually and were wishing us and the players well. “It was a really enjoyable night and we had some good stories about Brian Clough from Lee Glover.” -------------------- John Dempster gives updates on Mansfield Town's injured players as new season dawns chad.co.uk, by MARK DUFFY Mansfield Town boss John Dempster has updated supporters on how the club's injured players are progressing. The Stags boss has given updates on both the long and short-term injuries affecting the club. Dempster said that striker Craig Davies is not expected back in action before Christmas. Having had surgery on both ankles, Davies still faces a long road to regaining his fitness with Dempster saying this week that he is unlikely to train this year. He said: "He had an operation on both ankles to try and improve the way he was feeling, but he still suffers from a lot of pain in one ankle. https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/john-dempster-gives-updates-on-mansfield-town-s-injured-players-as-new-season-dawns-1-9907484 “Until that pain disappears, with the help of the medical team, we again can’t move onto the next stage of his rehab." Goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik, meanwhile, faces another month on the sidelines, according to Dempster. The Austrian picked up a knee injury in training last December which ruled him out for the remainder of last season, but is now not far away from being able to play once more. Dempster said: "Bobby is doing well. He had a little bit of a setback before Portugal, so in the early part of the ten days he was a bit down in the dumps as his knee had a bit of swelling. “But since then, it’s been really positive and he’s been doing more work and building up gradually. We expect him to be back in the next couple of months.” On the short-term injuries, Dempster added: “Hayden White was back out on the grass yesterday, doing some really intense physical work - so he’s looking good. “I expect him to return to training with the team within the next week. “Willem Tomlinson is probably about two weeks away. He’s still got a bit of swelling in his knee, so until that completely goes, it’s difficult to move onto the next stage of his rehab. “Matt Preston trained as normal on Monday. It was more an impact injury against Rangers and he had a little bit of a cut. He managed to train yesterday and he’ll train again today." ------------------- Being amongst the bookies favourites does not phase Mansfield Town boss John Dempster chad.co.uk, by MARK DUFFY John Dempster says being the bookies favourites for promotion from League Two excites him rather than adding pressure. Mansfield are hotly tipped to make the step up to League One this term, despite a change in management at the One Call Stadium. https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/being-amongst-the-bookies-favourites-does-not-phase-mansfield-town-boss-john-dempster-1-9906506 And it’s something Dempster is keen to see happen. He said: “I feel excited and I feel responsible because I want to do well for everybody. “When I first decided to take the role, I decided I wasn’t going to go into it fearfully, I decided I’d give it my best shot and I think that’s the best way to go about any challenge in front of you. “I knew the squad was strong and I knew if I could bring in key members of staff, like my assistant Lee Glover, then I think we have a great chance of getting to where we want to be.” -------------------- Goalkeeper ‘excited to get going’ ahead of new term mansfieldtown.net, Tuesday 30 July 2019 Goalkeeper Conrad Logan says that he is ‘flying and ready to go’ ahead of this Saturday’s big kick-off away to Newport County. The 33-year-old is heading into his third season with the Stags after displaying excellent form in last term’s play-off fixtures against the Exiles. And the shot-stopper says he is just as ‘excited’ as ever to start the new campaign. “I won’t beat around the bush, last season wasn’t great for me because I was in and out of the team,” said Logan. https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2019/july/logan-pre-newport/ “If you’re in the team and playing well, making match-winning saves, then that breeds confidence. “Especially in the final spell [of the season], I just backed myself really. It was a pretty good end to the season for me. “I’m flying and ready to go [this season]. I’m enjoying football and enjoying playing. I’m just excited to get going again. “This is what it’s all about as professional footballers, we want to play for three points on a Saturday and we’re only a few days away from doing that again. “Everything has geared up from the last six weeks to this. This season, with the additions we’ve made, hopefully this can be the season when we finally get it over the line and do what we’ve all come here to achieve. “If you give your best every day, then the rest of it looks after itself. I’ll keep my head down and keep playing as well as I can. If everyone does their job, the team will take care of itself. “It’s about having consistency. Keep winning your home games and picking up points away from home. If we’re consistent throughout the season, hopefully we’ll be up there without too much drama.” Logan also reflected on what he says has been a positive pre-season, whilst also looking ahead to Saturday’s clash against Newport and the 2019-20 campaign. “Personally it’s been a good pre-season,” he added. “As a team we’ve really come on from the first day. Obviously we’ve got a new manager [John Dempster] and we’re all buying into the way he wants to play. “We’ve got better as pre-season has progressed. We’ve got new players in and it always takes that little bit of time to gel, but I think we’re starting to see that now. “A lot of pre-season is about getting time into the legs. You use it for what it is, which is an exercise to gain fitness and take on board tactical information. “It’s a completely different kettle of fish on Saturday [against Newport County]. They are a good team and we saw that last season. “It’ll be a tough game and we’re under no illusions about that, but we’re confident going into the game. “We’ve signed some good players and we also have a very good team that the manager has inherited from last season. “We all know how close we were last season, so with the extra additions that the manager has brought in, he’s probably given us that little bit of strength in depth. “There are a lot of players out there fighting for that starting XI spot on Saturday. “If we can do what we did last season defensively and add that little bit of extra up front, which the manager has done, then hopefully it can get us over the line this season. Stags’ number one also spoke of 20-year-old goalkeeper Aidan Stone, who joined the Stags in the summer after a spell with Burnley. Logan described the young shot-stopper as a ‘very good goalkeeper.’ “He [Stone] has done very well. He’s a very good goalkeeper who has clearly had a good upbringing and a good pedigree at Burnley. “There are a lot of experienced and good goalkeepers up there, so you would expect any young goalkeeper to be learning and taking things on board from them. “He’s come in here and settled in well - he’s held his own and is obviously pushing me for the [goalkeeper] spot.” iFollow Stags subscribers can watch Logan’s interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later today. ---------------------- Conrad Logan raring to go as Mansfield Town target elusive promotion chad.co.uk, by MARK DUFFY, Tuesday 30 July 2019 Goalkeeper Conrad Logan says he and his team-mates are excited and raring to go ahead of the new Sky Bet League Two season which starts this weekend. Mansfield Town head to Newport County for their opening game, reigniting a rivalry which culminated in County beating Stags on penalties to reach the play-off final last season. And Logan says he and his fellow players are ready to put that disappointment behind them. He said: “This is what it’s all about as professional footballers. “We want to play for three points on a Saturday and we’re now only a few days away from doing that again. https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/conrad-logan-raring-to-go-as-mansfield-town-target-elusive-promotion-1-9906421 “Everything has geared up from the last six weeks to this. Hopefully this season, with the additions we’ve made, can be the one where we finally get it over the line and do what we’ve all come here to achieve.” On a personal note, Logan hopes to make the number one slot his own following a frustrating campaign last season. He said: “Last season wasn’t great for me because I was in and out of the team. “If you’re in the team and playing well, making match-winning saves, then that breeds confidence. “Towards the end of the season, I just backed myself really. It was a pretty good end to the season for me. “I’m flying and ready to go. I’m enjoying football and enjoying playing and am excited to get going again.” ------------------ Promotion the only aim for Newport County star Joss Labadie southwalesargus.co.uk, By Andrew Penman MIDFIELDER Joss Labadie is adamant that promotion is the only aim for Newport County AFC as they prepare to kick off the 2019-2020 campaign at home to Mansfield Town on Saturday. County are looking to build on last season’s near-miss when they were beaten in the League Two play-off final by Tranmere Rovers. Labadie is convinced that they can continue the progress they have made since Michael Flynn took over as manager in 2017 and he sees no reason why they cannot secure a place in League One. https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/sport/17803147.promotion-aim-newport-county-star-joss-labadie/ Asked about the aim for the season, Labadie’s answer was simple and succinct: “Promotion. Since the gaffer has come in, we’ve always improved - saved ourselves from relegation, successful season the next year and play-offs the next year. “I think promotion has to be the aim this time around. “There’s no reason why we can’t achieve that. We competed with the best teams in the league last season so it’s a natural progression for us.” “Mansfield are a fierce team, but so are we,” he told iFollowExiles. “They know what we’re about and we showed them that last season. “It’ll be a good one to start the season off. “You could say the play-off semi-finals don’t matter because it’s in the past now but we’re still hurting from the final and they’ll be hurting from the semi-finals. “I’m sure it’ll be a full-blooded affair.” The Exiles completed their on-pitch pre-season preparations with a 3-0 win at Hungerford Town at the weekend. Labadie scored the first goal and, having also netted at Weston-super-Mare last week, he’s hoping to take that form into the league campaign. “It was another goal for myself, which I’m happy with,” said the 28-year-old, who failed to score in 21 appearances last season having hit six goals in 2017-2018. “I need to get more goals into my game this season which is something the manager has been onto me for. Hopefully I can get a few more in the season. “This was the last fixture before Mansfield, and it was a really good runout for the boys,” he added. “We all got 45 minutes, and everyone came away from it unscathed, so it was a really positive day for us. “We’ve got competition for places now, which is always good and even the trialists who played all knew their jobs and played really well. “It’s been very good this pre-season. The manager was very happy, he’s always said that he wouldn’t be too fussed on results as long as we gave it our all and put the work in. “That’s exactly what we did and we’re really looking forward to facing Mansfield Town now. Hopefully we can hit the ground running.” ---------------- |
Latest | August 2019