Stags’ manager Adam Murray wants his side to continue their good form on Saturday when Cambridge United visit One Call Stadium (3.00pm kick-off).
Murray bolstered his defensive options with the deadline day signing of youngster Alex Iacovitti from Nottingham Forest following the injury sustained by centre-half Kyle Howkins in Tuesday’s Checkatrade Trophy defeat to Doncaster Rovers.
And Murray says his side will have to be focussed on Saturday when they face a Cambridge side who he expects to be ‘up there’ this season, despite currently sitting bottom of the entire EFL and yet to record a League win in the 2016/17 season.
“Cambridge are a very good team, a very strong side; they made some very good signings in the summer,” the Stags’ chief said.
“Personally, I think they’ve got a very good manager and more importantly, a top bloke. I’m hoping it’s not going to be this weekend but I backed them at the start of the season to be up there in the top seven so these things happen.
“We need to make sure that on Saturday, we’re on our game and we hope they don’t have a good day on Saturday and after that we wish them all the best. But Saturday will all be about us again and we’ll make sure we focus on us and we want to continue our good form.”
Despite suffering injuries to the aforementioned Howkins and midfielder Jamie McGuire in midweek, Murray revealed that midfielders Chris Clements and Jack Thomas are recovering well from their respective hamstring and groin injuries.
“[Those] two are positive, very positive. We’re getting to where we need to be with them two now so [they're] both massive pluses for us.
“[Them] being able to be able to come back in to the squad was one thing that was able to put a smile on my face this morning and then I think being able to get certain people minutes [on Tuesday] night has been really beneficial to us.
“[McGuire] took a big bang [on Tuesday] night, he couldn’t walk this morning so he’s just going to have to see how he comes through the next few days, see how he reacts over the weekend and in to next week.”
Following the announcement of Forest defender Alex Iacovitti on a season-long loan deal, we also confirmed that young forwards Tyler Blake and Jason Law have joined Sutton Coldfield on a month’s loan, whilst defender Corbin Shires has joined Bradford Park Avenue for a month.
And the manager believes that the short-term deals will provide the trio with invaluable experience at this stage of their careers.
“You forget how young, especially Jason, you forget how young he is. He’s been in our environment now for coming up to 12 months and his growth has been phenomenal.
“They’ve all got a lot of ability. Tyler has come on leaps and bounds in the last month and it’s a step up for them in terms of the loans that Corbs has previously had and the level that Jason’s previously played at. It’s a step up and for Tyler it’ll be a step in to men’s football where you have to win of a Saturday and I’m a big believer that this growth period is huge for them.”
