Match winner Chris Clements has ambitious sights in the Checkatrade Trophy as Stags progressed through to the knockout stages thanks to a dramatic 3-2 victory away to Derby County.
The midfielder netted a wonderful curling drive to seal the victory in time added on to send Stags through into the next stages of the Checkatrade Trophy, finishing second behind group winners Doncaster."We'll look to get as far as can in this competition now," said Clements after the win.
"If we win these cup games it will give us momentum for the league games coming up.
"It was good to get a win against a good Derby side, who played a lot of young players but were still a good standard of team. It was a good test for us today and hopefully we can take it into our league programme."
The 26-year-old was impressed with the way Stags' implemented their game plan this evening.
"I think we started quick. We mixed it up; we played short and went long to Hendo [Darius Henderson], who in the first half I don’t think they [Derby] could deal with, to be fair, with the big presence that he was.Â
"These academy players play football, so I think we needed to mix it up today. They are good at it, as shown today; playing through the lines and passing the ball. So we needed to mix it up and when we did, we looked dangerous. We switched it up with different styles and it worked."
Named as captain for the first time this season, Clements reiterated that it is important to be a presence on the field, whether wearing the armband or not.
"Everyone has to be a leader no matter who has the armband. The gaffer wants us all to work for each other and to be leaders and talkers; that’s what the gaffer’s trying to get into us now.Â
Named as captain for the first time this season, Clements reiterated that it is important to be a presence on the field, whether wearing the armband or not.
"Everyone has to be a leader no matter who has the armband. The gaffer wants us all to work for each other and to be leaders and talkers; that’s what the gaffer’s trying to get into us now.Â
"We need to learn how to win games, which we did today, but in previous weeks we’ve not slowed the game down when we needed to or managed the game as well as we could have.
Commending the travelling 357 Stags' fans, Clements added:Â "We brought a good following and that was good to see. They helped us over the line," he added.
Stags PlayerHD subscribers can view Chris Clements' interview in full.
Stags PlayerHD subscribers can view Chris Clements' interview in full.
