Stags’ midfielder Jamie McGuire today spoke of the importance of completing 90 minutes for the club’s under 21s side to be ready for first team duties if called upon.
McGuire captained our under 21s to a 3-2 victory over local rivals Chesterfield this afternoon thanks to a brace from striker Pat Hoban and a lovely finish by Alfie Potter. The Spireites then scored two late goals to make the scoreline look more respectable than it perhaps could have been.
And McGuire, 33, was pleased to get some much-needed game time under his belt.
“It was a good 90 minutes to be honest with you. I think for all of us, the lads who haven’t been playing, it’s a good 90 minutes and we’ve got a massive game to move on to now against Morecambe,” the former Fleetwood man said.
“You need it because you never know when you’re going to get called upon, like I was at Cheltenham when I got thrown in. You need that game time so it was perfect for me. It was a good 90 minutes, a good 3-2 win and everyone’s got 90 minutes and now we move on to Saturday.
“My record speaks for itself when I’ve done well in the team, especially the defensive side of it. When I get called upon, I’m always ready to go.”
Stags were cruising to a comfortable victory at 3-0 with ten minutes to go before Chesterfield scored two late goals and McGuire believes the end to the game was much nervier than it should have been.
“It was just one of them where we’d made a few changes. It was a makeshift back four in the end but to be fair to Chesterfield, they’ve got a lot of young kids and they’ve done well [in the] last 20 minutes but we should’ve been 6-0 up at half-time, maybe a bit more.
“We were 2-0 up at half-time so the boys had a lot of chances – it could have been five or six – but [in the] last 15 minutes we gave two sloppy goals away.”
Defender George Taft completed a competitive 90 minutes in a Stags shirt for the first time since he suffered a hamstring injury in September and McGuire was delighted to see his team-mate make his comeback.
“I’ve just said to him there, I’m made up. He got 90 minutes and I just said to him, it’s his type of game because when the ball was going in the air from his goal kicks, he wanted to win the headers because he’s a big boy.
“It’s good to see Tafty back and I think a couple more games and I think he’s ready to go now.”
Supporters can login to Stags PlayerHD to view Jamie McGuire’s post-match interview in full.
