Mansfield Town

Our side lock horns with the high-flying Cod Army on Saturday, having slipped to 15th position in the league table, following the 3-1 home reverse to Oxford United.

“We’ve got players coming back from injury now,” said Cox.

“Hopefully, this will be a big week for us in terms of getting a game under players’ belt and getting them right for the first team.”

He continued: “We’ve got (Martin) Riley, (Ryan) Tafazolli, (Chris) Clements, (Ollie) Palmer, and there might even be an outside chance for (Ben) Hutchinson [being fit for Saturday].

“You’re looking at roughly the spine of a side that started the season, so I think that what that will do [once they are fit again] is increase competition for places.

“We’ll see how those players come through this week, but if any football club at this level loses the spine of their side, like we have done, then it’s going to make it harder to win matches.

“All I want now is my full quota of players back and [we will] see where we go from there in terms of competition for places.”

Cox also confirmed that three of the aforementioned players will participate in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Huddersfield Town later this week.

“Three of them, (Martin) Riley, (Ryan) Tafazolli and (Chris) Clements, will definitely be playing in the game,” said our boss.

“(Ollie) Palmer wasn’t a million miles away from being in the squad on Saturday, so he [could play a part], but he’s got a little tear in his hamstring, so we’ve got to be careful.”

He added: “[There is] good news about (Ben) Hutchinson as well. He is a bit closer than first thought, so we’ve got our fingers crossed.”

Meanwhile, the club will not be appealing against the red card that was shown to Jamie McGuire in our match with Oxford on Saturday. For more on this story, click here.

Finally, youngster Jack Blake has returned to Nottingham Forest following the completion of his one-month loan with us. For more on this story, click here.