Mansfield Town

The Stags face long trips to Yeovil and Portsmouth after the visit of Rovers and while he acknowledges Mansfield's fine start the campaign, he's also keen to ensure the squad don't undo all of their good work against The Pirates.

 

He said: "We know that they (Bristol Rovers) will bring a different challenge to us but we've got good players who can adjust to anything they need to. 

 

"We've had a super start and we've probably blown everybody's expectations already for what they expected us to do in the first quarter of the season. That's not enough for us because we still know there's more in us; we're probably functioning at 70 percent and the other 30 percent will be what keeps us in the top group.

 

"Winners strive to be greedy and achieve as many points as they can, and that’s this group's target."

 

Murray has high praise for coaching duo Micky Moore and Richard Cooper, who have helped the Stags’ boss make amendments to the training regime of the players.

 

"We have a different day off to a lot of clubs, we train at different times. We're training them to prepare them for the time they're expected to be at their best."

 

Speaking about his staff, he added: "I know at the time I got the job [as manager] people were saying that they didn't know if they (Moore and Cooper) have the experience. They're two of the most enthusiastic, qualified, modern and inspirational people that I could have by my side.

 

"Micky knows the game, he's got more contacts than anyone I know and he's a thinker. Coops is a young coach, he's got great ideas, he brings a freshness and he's a motivator as well. We've got a difference in character and ideas and it works."

 

Murray's counterpart in the opposition dug-out at the weekend will be ex-Stag Darrell Clarke, who is another example of a young British coach trying to enhance his reputation in The Football League – something which the former is heartened to see.

 

"There's more British coaches and managers getting a chance in the game. I think the energy around young coaches rubs off on your group which is what I've found. I've wanted to learn from the bad times and good times.

 

"I haven't got the knowledge of a 50 or 60-year-old manager, but at the minute I don't want that. Ultimately I want to be my own man and a lot of young coaches I speak to are the same.

 

"The modern game is moving forward rapidly; formations are a lot more fluid and teams go from formation to formation in the space of 20 minutes, sometimes without knowing they're doing it. That's the game now and it's exciting for English football - the more of our own we can push through, the better."

To see Adam Murray news conference, in full, visit Stags Player.