Mansfield Town striker Matt Green admitted he was left relieved after netting twice during the Stags’ 3-1 win over Hartlepool United this afternoon.
The former Birmingham City forward notched either side of Adi Yussuf’s sensational strike just minutes after coming on as a substitute, and Green was glad to finally see his hard work pay off after eight matches without a goal.
“It’s great to be back on the scoresheet, it’s been a few games now but more importantly we’ve got back to winning ways and we can push on from here,” said Green.
“There’s nothing worse than missing chances, nothing worse than going through dry spells as a striker so it’s good to get that monkey off my back, so to speak.”
For many strikers, a run of games without a goal can play on the mind the longer the spell goes on and Green admitted that although it has been difficult to battle the psychology of the matter, he has always backed his ability in front of goal.
“I never doubted myself, just sometimes you can’t see how your next goal is going to come but it’s just football. More importantly we’ve gotten back to winning ways today.
“It’s been tough to be honest; I expect to score goals, the manager expects me to score goals and the team expects me to score goals.
“We’re a team, the manager has said that and broken it down and told us if we can be solid all the way through, everything else will take care of itself."
Green continued: “I think the proof was in the pudding today and we have to take that into Tuesday. It’s given me the world of confidence again and I’m excited to play my next game.”
With both of Adam Murray’s forwards finding the back of the net in today’s win, Green was thrilled to see his good friend and team-mate Yussuf find the net – declaring that the Tanzanian striker could be key to the Stags’ success this campaign.
“I’m so happy for him as he has trained so hard; I push him and he pushes me and we’ve got a great relationship.
“Today shows his ability at such a young age and that he could be a very key player for us this season. We bounce off each other and help each other, but we all do that as team and that’s what it’s about.
“The manager is close to us as well and we’ve got a really good group here and hopefully now we can kick on.”
You can view Green's interview, in full, on Stags Player.
