Stags look to play-offs
STAGS head into Saturday's crunch game with promotion-chasing Northampton Town looking to secure three vital points to help reignite their play-off push.
The Field Mill team, who have no new injury worries ahead of the clash, will be aiming to be build on Saturday's crushing 5-0 victory over Boston United and extend their impressive unbeaten streak to eight.
And Stags' assistant manager Paul Holland believes the morale-boosting win will help give the team the confidence needed to continue their climb up the League Two ladder.
Said Holland: "Morale is very high after the Boston game. It has got people buzzing and the next game cannot come soon enough for us.
"We have been playing very well lately and have been due to beat a team heavily for a while."
"The Darlington defeat helped bring us back down to earth and we have really pushed on since then and moved up the table. We are playing excellent football and making Field Mill a hard place to come and win at."
He added: "There is excellent competition for places in the team now and spirit is high among the players. They are really enjoying themselves and turning that into excellent performances on the field.
"Everyone is a lot more relaxed about things now than at the start of the season and we are managing to bring the best out of the players and get the results."
And despite the Cobblers being eight places and 15 points better off than Mansfield, Holland is confident the Stags can turn in a top performance and take all three points.
He said: "Northampton are a good team who are always up there and are there or thereabouts this season, but in this league anyone can beat anyone and there is no reason why we cannot pick up the three points and push on towards the play-offs.
"Although we are in mid-table at the moment, the season is anything but dead. We have one eye looking over our shoulders at the relegation zone and one eye on the play-offs, and there is still everything to play for at this stage."
Peter Shirtliff welcomed Rhys Day and Adam Birchall back into his squad last weekend after they came through a reserve workout in midweek.
However, he has decided not to pursue striker Arkadiusz Zarczynski after his appearance in the same game — a 2-0 behind-closed-doors home defeat to a very strong Rushden and Diamonds side.
The Pole had turned up at the ground asking for a trial and Shirtliff said: "To be fair he did OK.
"But I have decided he is not what we are looking for in terms of style.
"I wish him well and hope he gets fixed up somewhere. Sometimes these things work out, sometimes they don't."
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Lots more on the stags in this weeks CHAD.
And Stags' assistant manager Paul Holland believes the morale-boosting win will help give the team the confidence needed to continue their climb up the League Two ladder.
Said Holland: "Morale is very high after the Boston game. It has got people buzzing and the next game cannot come soon enough for us.
"We have been playing very well lately and have been due to beat a team heavily for a while."
"The Darlington defeat helped bring us back down to earth and we have really pushed on since then and moved up the table. We are playing excellent football and making Field Mill a hard place to come and win at."
He added: "There is excellent competition for places in the team now and spirit is high among the players. They are really enjoying themselves and turning that into excellent performances on the field.
"Everyone is a lot more relaxed about things now than at the start of the season and we are managing to bring the best out of the players and get the results."
And despite the Cobblers being eight places and 15 points better off than Mansfield, Holland is confident the Stags can turn in a top performance and take all three points.
He said: "Northampton are a good team who are always up there and are there or thereabouts this season, but in this league anyone can beat anyone and there is no reason why we cannot pick up the three points and push on towards the play-offs.
"Although we are in mid-table at the moment, the season is anything but dead. We have one eye looking over our shoulders at the relegation zone and one eye on the play-offs, and there is still everything to play for at this stage."
Peter Shirtliff welcomed Rhys Day and Adam Birchall back into his squad last weekend after they came through a reserve workout in midweek.
However, he has decided not to pursue striker Arkadiusz Zarczynski after his appearance in the same game — a 2-0 behind-closed-doors home defeat to a very strong Rushden and Diamonds side.
The Pole had turned up at the ground asking for a trial and Shirtliff said: "To be fair he did OK.
"But I have decided he is not what we are looking for in terms of style.
"I wish him well and hope he gets fixed up somewhere. Sometimes these things work out, sometimes they don't."
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Lots more on the stags in this weeks CHAD.