Mansfield Town

The 29-year-old has made eight appearances so far this term, and was on target for us in the 3-1 loss to Oxford United last Saturday.

Stevenson, who also netted in our 8-1 thrashing of St Albans City the previous week, is determined to work hard in his bid to earn a regular starting spot.

He said: “I’m in the team to score goals and get on the end of things. I’ll work hard to try and put myself in the gaffer’s options.”

“I wouldn’t say so much [that I need to] prove myself, as my record speaks for itself.

“Last season, you could say that [I was playing at] non-league [level], but this season I’ve scored three in my last six games, and [averaged] one in three starts.

“I’ve been that throughout my career, so it’s not bad for a midfielder.”

Reflecting on our recent league form, Stevenson said: “We’ve had lots of injuries and suspensions and I think we have been unlucky.

“We were unlucky in the Bristol Rovers match, but that’s football – we might be saying the opposite after the next seven games.”

He added: “We got off to a flyer this season and everyone was a bit more optimistic then saying ‘Let’s push for promotion’ and that sort of thing.

“If you look at the league table, we’re seven or eight points off the top, and there’s so little in it – it’s the same as last year really.

“Football is weird sometimes. If we put a run of three or four wins together, even if we got four or five points, then we are right back in the mix.”

Stevenson also believes that midfielder Jamie McGuire is unfortunate to be missing this weekend’s trip to former club Fleetwood Town through suspension.

McGuire, 30, received a straight red card for a challenge on Danny Rose in the 3-1 defeat to Oxford United at One Call Stadium in our last outing.

“I was probably the closest person to the challenge and I don’t think it was a red card,” added Stevenson. 

“[Both players] went in whole-heartedly and they both got the ball. It was very unfortunate and it puts a downer on the game when somebody gets sent-off.”