Mansfield Town manager Adam Murray heaped praise on the club’s ‘outstanding’ supporters who helped his side surpass the 50-point mark in Sky Bet League 2 on Saturday at One Call Stadium.
The Stags’ dramatic 3-2 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge at the weekend was their 14th win of the season and Murray believes the fans have played a big part in the Stags' progression.
“The fans were outstanding on Saturday, it was pleasing to hear them. They’re not criticising people, they’re not getting on players’ backs. They’re backing their team and in the dictionary I think the definition of ‘supporter’ is that. They want us to succeed.
“It (surpassing 50 points) was a good milestone for us, we’re up there on merit. Now we want to get to 60 points as quickly as we can; that’s our next target. We’ve got some tough games coming up but we’re ready for the fight.”
Mansfield have played the most fixtures in the top half of the division and Murray thinks that obtaining the points on the board is preferable to having surplus matches to play.
“I’m 'over the moon' we haven’t got games in hand because that’s more pressure; you have to win when teams above you have got points. If they [the teams in and around the Stags in the league table] don’t win, we stay ahead of them so we’ve got to keep doing our business.
“The pressure’s on everyone else at the minute, we’re just enjoying being in there [the play-off pack] and enjoying our football. We’ll do our job and watch what happens around us.
“It’s ‘do or die’ time now. This is where it matters. We’re up there [in the League Two table] because we are a good team so we don’t want to let it slip away now. There’s going to be more twists and turns.”
Murray also lauded the influence of Adi Yussuf, who came on in the 51st-minute against Dagenham and provided a much-needed spark to Stags’ attack as he scored and inspired them to victory.
“He scores goals. If he doesn’t score, he creates. He’s been out of the professional game for a long time and when he was in it, he only had three games so he’s a baby. He can’t do any more, fitness-wise, off the pitch.
“He’s constantly in the gym, he’s got a personal trainer. The big thing that’s going to improve him is game time. I thought he was superb on Saturday, [the] best I’ve seen him. He’s going to be an asset for the football club.”
Off the field, chairman John Radford announced in Saturday’s matchday programme, ‘The Stag’, that ticket prices won’t be increased next season, and Murray isn’t surprised by his gesture of goodwill.
“It sums the man up," added Murray. "I know if he could let everyone in for free, he would! That’s the type of bloke he is. He wants everyone in the town to be part of it."
You can view Adam Murray’s news conference, in full, on Stags Player.
