Both James Jennings and Martin Riley could be fit for Saturday’s Sky Bet League Two match against Newport County.
At his meeting with the local press this morning, manager Paul Cox revealed that the duo came through a behind-closed-doors match away to Alfreton Town in midweek.
Jennings, 26, has been sidelined for the past few weeks with a quad muscle injury, whilst Riley, 27, has been ruled out with a calf problem.
“They came through it really well,” said our boss. “It was a good competitive game and something that we wouldn’t have got if we had played other teams.
“It was a really good workout and I was pleased with the intensity of the game because over the next two weeks at the very least, the whole of the squad is going to be utilised.
“We’ve got Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday [games] coming up and I want to be looking at a team for Saturday, but probably freshening bodies up for Tuesday night.
“We’re coming towards the end of a long season where minds and bodies get a little bit tired and I want to make sure the whole squad is utilised.”
He added: “All the boys had the day off yesterday and they’ve worked hard again this week, so we’ll see how [Jennings and Riley] are today and tomorrow, before we make a decision.”
Our team go into this weekend’s match just five points behind Justin Edinburgh’s men, and a victory could see us climb five places in the league table.
“There are so many permutations but all I want to do is concentrate and keep focussed on what we can achieve,” continued Cox.
“It’s a really big month us. We’ve got six games, but we’ll take every one at its face value and re-adjust and plan after that as we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.
“It’s a big time for us, but it’s a big time for every club from 10th downwards. Everybody is looking at the bigger picture and looking at they want to finish this season, before they start planning for next year.”
A full interview with Paul Cox will be available on Stags Player later today. To subscribe, click here.
