Mansfield Town

Veteran forward Jamie Cureton netted a second half brace to secure a comfortable win for the visitors. Despite the defeat, we remain in 12th position in Sky Bet League Two.

“To say I’m disappointed is an understatement,” said Cox. “It just wasn’t good enough today.

“A lot of people say we’ve achieved because we’ve avoided relegation, etcetera, but I want to take the club forward so I’ve got to do some serious thinking – not just about today’s game, but in other times when those type of performances have come about. I’ll plan accordingly from there.

“We’re paid to play football and it’s the best job in the world. Each and every one of the players and the squad has got something to prove.

“We’ve had a half-decent season and you’d think that players would be hungry to improve on what they’ve done this year and learn from their mistakes, but if things like that keep happening again, the book stops with me and I’ve got to do something about it.”

He added: “I might sound harsh and as if as though I’m thinking with my heart and not my head, but before the game I said I wanted a good performance and a good result.

“It makes my mind up about players in terms of taking the club forward.

“If we played badly with the ball or if we’ve not passed the ball, I can stomach it, but we just rolled over and died today. That’s not us and not what we’ve tried to build this club on.

“We get called big and strong, but they were bigger and stronger, had more fight in them, more running in them and a desire to win a football match, and that’s what I can’t stomach.”

Paul Cox’s post-match interview will be available on Stags Player later today. To subscribe, click here.