Mansfield Town

Manager Adam Murray says this Saturday’s ‘six-pointer’ showdown with York City is the biggest game in his tenure so far and wants supporters to create a cauldron of noise inside One Call Stadium.

A win this weekend would take our team a massive 10 points above the Minstermen in the Sky Bet League Two table with just seven matches of the season to go, though a defeat would see the visitors narrow the gap to just four points.

It promises to be a big game and one which our manager is relishing.

He said: “I can’t wait [for the game] to be honest. The boys have got a real fire in their belly about Saturday’s game. We were disappointed with our result on the Saturday just gone [losing 1-0 away at Hartlepool United] and we want to put that right again.

“Every time we’ve had to react, we have done so. It’s one of those games where for the first time I’ll give you the line of ‘it’s a six-pointer’ because it’s a big game. They obviously need to win so they’ve got to come at us and it’ll be a really good game.”

Murray continued: “We’re getting to that stage of the season now where points are the most important thing. It’s not about performances any more – it’s about points on the board.

“It’s interesting speaking to a few players and other clubs that I know and people’s kind of view on the game change. It’s about getting [the ball] in the box as quickly as you can now and a lot of teams are setting up that way, because points are a necessity.

“[Saturday’s game] will be a battle and a war between two teams that are fighting for points and I can’t wait.”

Our boss also wants supporters to continue to play their part by creating a fantastic atmosphere inside One Call Stadium and getting behind our players throughout the game.

“We need the crowd to play a part in it,” said Murray. “I’d go as far as saying this is probably our biggest game so far this season, so we’ll see, as a football club, what we’re made of.

“It’s not going to be about 11 players on the pitch or the 18 players in the squad. It’s going to be about how many people we can get through the doors and how much noise they can make.

“It’ll be interesting to see, when you look at all the clubs below us at the minute, and they’re all doing rallying cries for supporters, so we’ve got to do the same.

“It’s a time where with eight games to go, we have to want more than at any other time in recent times. We’ve put ourselves in a great position to achieve what we set out to do three months ago.”

In team news for Saturday’s match, we will be without winger Junior Brown, who starts a four-game suspension, as well as Reggie Lambe, who is away on international duty with Bermuda.

Striker Liam Hearn featured for the reserves in midweek, but is unlikely to be rushed back.