Mansfield Town

Manager Paul Cox insists he is working hard to assemble a squad capable of taking the club forward in Sky Bet League Two next season.

Yesterday, we unveiled Luke Jones as our first summer signing – the defender joining us on a free transfer, having opted to leave Stevenage earlier this month.

“It’s a really positive signing for us,” said Cox.

“Everybody that can remember the back end of [our championship-winning] season will know that [Luke] played in a number of games and helped us to get promoted.

“He went on and played a number of games, about 30-odd, in League One last year, but I’ve got a good relationship with the lad and kept in touch with him.”

“I was surprised to be able to capture him, but it’s a quality signing to the spine of our side.”

Meanwhile, Cox expects our out-of-contract players who have been offered new deals with the club to decide on their futures in the very near future.

He continued: “[Those players out of contract] have all gone away to have a little think. 

“Obviously, they’re talking to other clubs – I’ve got a good relationship with them and they’ve told me that, but we’ll know something in the near future.

“It’s a part of the season when we know that we’re going to get some highs and we know that we’re going to get some lows, but come pre-season we hope to have a squad that can take us forward.”

Our manager has also re-iterated his desire to bring a goalscorer to the club, and believes it is a position that needs strengthening more than most others.

“It’s a goalscorer that every club is looking for,” added Cox.

“If you looked at our performances last year and where we finished, if we had somebody that could score you 15 or 20 goals, the table could have looked completely different.

“We want to improve. It was a big season for us last year and I think it’ll be a lot tougher this year. The league will be a lot stronger and we’ll have to work harder to improve our position from last season.”