Manager Adam Murray says he has experienced the energy the home fans can give the players out on 'the battlefield', and wants an electric atmosphere from the first whistle tomorrow.
Writing in his programme notes, ahead of tomorrow’s game against league leaders Wycombe Wanderers, and re-iterating the message in yesterday’s press conference, the manager remarks: “One of my main aims as a manager for this football club is, with your help, to create that electric atmosphere which we are so used to in the final half-hour of games, and replicate it from the first minute of matches here.“This is a major force and acts as a big push for the players.
“Thank you for your continued support and strength in numbers for me and the team."
At his press conference yesterday he added: “People sit in this chair and say, 'we need the fans behind us' and it carries no weight because sometime's it's empty words from managers and coaches," he said.
"I'm saying it because I've witnessed it; I've been out there on the battlefield and I've experienced the energy that it does give you.”
The Stags’ boss was encouraged by the atmosphere in the last half-hour of Saturday’s home defeat to Exeter City, and wants the same again tomorrow, but from the first whistle:
“After the game on Saturday, it was the first time I felt that everyone inside the ground was on the same page. We all felt hurt, frustration, but there was a sense of optimism after what we had witnessed. You went away thinking how we had not got three points. I think it was brilliant, in a strange way, to feel that atmosphere in the ground at the end, of everyone feeling the same. I don’t think we’ve had that at this football club for a long while."
He described the test of table-toppers Wycombe as 'a great challenge' for his players.
“They have a little bit of everything. They have a lot of pace, experience, the enthusiasm of youth and are a team who make decisions and are efficient in their decision-making. They’ve conceded a small amount of goals and that adds up to a successful team.
“I think Gareth [Ainsworth, Wycombe's manager] is on a further part down on his process, and as I said earlier this week, this time last year they were in a relegation battle. As it has swung round, they now sit top of the league. It’ll be a great challenge for us.”
In team news, defender Ryan Tafazolli has fully recovered following a virus, whilst Alex Fisher has resumed full-training following a dislocated shoulder.
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