Captain Lee Collins says the Stags may need to go ‘all guns blazing’ against in-form Yeovil Town at One Call Stadium on Saturday afternoon (3pm).
The Somerset outfit have only lost three out of their last 14 Sky Bet League 2 games with draws against Portsmouth and Plymouth Argyle proving a particular highlight, before a fantastic 1-0 win over Accrington Stanley on Tuesday night.
And Collins knows that despite their lowly position in the division, the Glovers shouldn’t be taken lightly as they look to extend the six-point gap that currently stands between themselves and the bottom two.
“When we played them down there (at Huish Park), I thought they were a good team, they played well. They’re in a good run of form.
“I’ve got a friend that plays there; I speak to him every other week and he says they’re playing good football but not getting the rub of the green. We can’t turn up and expect to win half-heartedly, we’ve got to come ‘all guns blazing’.”
After viewing Tuesday night’s results and seeing the Stags now only two points from the play-offs, Collins was encouraged and briefly reflected back to the pre-season predictions made by many pundits which have been proven wrong.
“Northampton did us a little bit a favour (drawing 1-1 against AFC Wimbledon). We could’ve done with them winning for us! There’s so much competition for those four spots in the play-offs but I think we’re well equipped to give it a good go.
“We deserve to be up there for what we’ve done for the majority of the season. At the start of the season we were favourites to go down so for us to be there still with teams around us that are expected to be there, there’s a bit more pressure on them to hold on to those spots.”
Although Collins has spent much of the season donning the captain’s armband, the ex-Northampton Town man doesn’t feel it alters the way he approaches matches.
“It’s never changed me, I’ve been captain before here. I don’t change anything that I do; I’m still vocal, still try to organise and demand more from players.
“As a senior pro, I put a lot of pressure on myself anyway to be someone that sets us off or influences other people. I think we’ve got a team full of captains, especially with the senior lads.”
You can view Lee Collins’ news conference, in full, on Stags Player.
