Stags' chairman John Radford expects home attendances to increase after landing in-demand Steve Evans as the club's new boss yesterday.
The 54-year-old Scot, a winner of nine promotions, was unveiled yesterday at a packed news conference at One Call Stadium.
And writing in Saturday's match programme, the club's owner John Radford said the home attendances should shoot up following the news: "This appointment underlines the clubās high ambitions and will generate huge excitement in and around the Town. I also want and expect the attendances to rise as we enter into this new exciting era.Ā
"Carolyn said recently in a media interview that this is the most significant appointment in the clubās modern history and who can argue with that? We now have a manager with a proven track record of success who will be a great ambassador for our club."
Speaking at the news conference yesterday, Mr Radford felt that, after Adam Murrayās departure, it was time to move on from the clubās habit of appointing from within the setup, particularly when a manager of the calibre of Steve Evans was available.Ā
āWeāre an ambitious club and Steveās an ambitious manager,ā Mr Radford said.Ā
āIn the past weāve always looked to someone already in the club, and obviously theyāve needed to have had some success here first.Ā
āWe knew Steve was out there and I had his number, I thought Iāll give it a shot and give him a call. I managed to get the meeting with him and it all happened so quickly.ā
Mr Radford knew the club had to act swiftly, with Evans a manager in high demand, and left their Monday evening meeting impressed with the manager-to-be.
āWe got on really well, he could see our ambition and we could see his.Ā
āWe knew there were other clubs interested and we knew he liked Mansfield, we played on that a bit too, and we knew the passion was there.ā
At Evansā unveiling on Wednesday afternoon, the former Crawley Town manager was quick to praise Mr Radford and declared his influence as the reason for joining.
āIt was nice to hear he chose Mansfield because of me, but itās not just me, itās because of our fans and our setup behind-the-scenes.Ā
āHe knows Mansfield fans are excellent and he wants to drive the club forward and weāll be here cheering him on.ā
Evans was also quick to speak of the prospect of promotion at Mansfield, with the Stags currently three points outside the play-off places and the chairman shares the new managerās beliefs and says the current squad that has been built has the potential to succeed.
āI love the confidence and I hope he can achieve promotion and I definitely think we can.Ā
āItās the same as Steve says, he has to evaluate whatās here and no-oneās going to lose out or anything. Adam has put together a quality side and they now have to prove themselves until January (when the transfer window opens) where we can sit down and look forward.ā
Now Mr Radford is looking forward to seeing the new managerās impact in his first game at One Call Stadium, with the Stags taking on Evansā former side Crawley Town on Saturday and the chairman says he will back his man all the way.
āIāll give him time and heās an ambitious manager. If he can achieve what he feels he can heāll have my support.ā Ā
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