Mansfield Town

Mansfield Town captain/assistant manager Adam Murray is ready for another physical battle with Newport County when the Welsh outfit travel to One Call Stadium tomorrow night (7.45pm).

Stags have been forced to fight hard against Justin Edinburgh's resillient Newport in recent years, and Murray is expecting tomorrow's encounter to be no different.

The Welsh side are yet to record their first win of the current campaign, after they lost at home to Wycombe Wanderers on the opening day and then at Morecambe on Saturday.

Speaking at this morning's press meeting, Murray, who came off the bench to grab the match winner at home to Oxford United, said: “Every game we have with Newport is a battle. They're a team that has a good structure, good organisation, they’re physical and like ourselves they play to their strengths.”

“Every time we’ve come across them over the last few years we’ve had some right good 'ding-dongs' and I expect nothing to be different tomorrow.”

The 32-year-old is also welcoming the return of frontman Matt Rhead, who is now available for selection after a four match suspension. Murray said: “The kind of team we are and the way we structure things, Matt’s a focal point for us. He’s a good player [to come in] and at the right time with the numbers situation.”

Reflecting finally on Saturday's first win of the season, Murray believes that Saturday’s win is a good platform for us to build on. “To get that win on the board was massive because we didn’t want to go on saying 'we’re playing well' and having no points on the board, so it’s a great platform for us now.

“I think we made it bit of a tougher game than it was second half. [In the] first half we dominated and maybe should’ve taken a couple more of our chances, but three points are on the board and we look to push on now.”

Following the news that Liam Hearn will be out until Christmas with a new knee injury, Murray is hopeful that the Stags will be able to find a replacement: “The gaffer will have discussions with the board and the chairman to see what we can do.”

In addition to the return of Matt Rhead the Stags also managed to come out of Saturday’s win against Oxford unscathed, with no new injury concerns: “We’ve still got Martin Riley who’s having more tests today (groin) and obviously Ollie Palmer’s (ankle) not 100% but there's nothing new from the weekend,” he added.

View Adam murray's press meeting now on Stags Player.