Mansfield Town boss Steve Evans says there is ‘no chance’ of Danny Rose leaving in January following an impressive start to the season.
The Stags’ boss insisted that the striker must continue to work hard at One Call Stadium to continue his rich form in front of goal.
The Barnsley-born marksman has bagged eight goals in the last ten matches – and ten goals in total - following Saturday’s brace at Shaw Lane, which saw Stags win 3-1 in the Emirates FA Cup first round.
Rose, 23, has upped the ante in front of goal since the arrival of boss Steve Evans a year ago and is now one of League Two’s leading goalscorers.
Asked at today’s news conference whether he would expect ‘a fight to keep hold of Rose in January’, the manager replied: “No chance. We have Danny here for a minimum of 20-odd months. We’re trying to build something here.
“It’s a strange situation as you want interest in your players because it means they’re playing well. Danny didn’t have any interest a year ago when I walked in. His goal-ratio when I put him in the team until the end of the season was very good.
“If people go back to the summer, people will have heard me say that we have a 20 goal striker in the building and he’s called Danny Rose.
"We have Danny here for a minimum of 20-odd months. We’re trying to build something here."
“He has a real presence about himself and works incredibly hard. We’ve said as a management team since we walked in, we love him. He’s our type. We want him to continue to work hard and keep focussed. He knows if his focus drops he’ll be out the team, it’s as simple as that.
“I love his tenacity to fight, his professionalism. He needs to get a few more before Christmas if he is going to achieve his [goal] target, because statistically it’s harder to get goals in the second half [of the season].”
Meanwhile, Stags’ last night were handed a home draw in the second round of the Emirates FA Cup, to face the winners of Accrington Stanley and Guiseley – a replay which will take place next Tuesday.
Happy with a home draw, the manager said: “By beating Shaw Lane, we’ve got in the draw and genuinely asked for a home tie. We don’t want to be going down to one of the non-league clubs and playing on 4G, for example.
“First and foremost, we’re at home. It saves travelling and you can prepare a little bit better.
“I have a lot of respect for Accrington and the people at Guiseley. It doesn’t matter to me who wins the cup tie.
“Of course the owner of Guiseley Football Club is Steve Parkin, Leeds United’s main sponsor. He’s a really decent fellow. [He’s] Leeds United crazy! He put millions into Leeds United before and during my time [as manager] and I’ll never forget the personal support he gave me when we tried to sign one or two players in January [at Elland Road].
“Let’s see who wins their replay and then we’ll do our homework and be ready.”
Meanwhile, the manager confirmed that striker Lee Angol will be sidelined for up to two weeks with a knee problem.
Subscribers to iFollow Stags can view the manager’s news conference in full later today.
