Mansfield Town

Tafazolli made his Football League debut in our stunning 3-0 win over Northampton Town on Saturday, and also received the ‘Man of the Match’ award.

“Everyone is confident and that’s coming right through from the first team to the lads who are on the bench and in the stands,” said the former Southampton trainee.

“We just need to keep level-headed and our feet on the ground, and take each game as it comes now.”

On the match with The Cobblers, Tafazolli continued: “They were very direct and we knew that we had to defend the box and the second ball really well,” said the former Southampton trainee.

“Clive Platt and Jacob Blyth were a real handful, but I think that I did alright. As a defender, you’ve always got to be pleased when you keep a clean-sheet.

“They had their chances and maybe they could have had a goal, but with the quality we have upfront, we always knew that we were going to cause them problems.”

He added: “I’ve been training well, playing in the reserves and doing extra work to make sure that I was ready for when I did get my chance.

“We’re unbeaten in the reserves and, like the manager says, there are a lot of lads who are ‘chomping at the bit’ to get in the team.

“The manager must have thought that I’ve done well to warrant a chance in the team and I’m thankful to him for that.”

Tafazolli revealed that he has an extra-special reason to look forward to this Saturday’s mouth-watering match at fierce local rivals Chesterfield.

“It’s a massive game for us and we’ve been anticipating it for a while now,” continued Tafazolli.

“It’s an even bigger day for me because it’s my birthday, so I’m hoping that we can go there and get a result, and hopefully keep a clean-sheet too.”