Stags’ assistant manager Ben Futcher has said that the Mansfield squad is in a ‘really good place’ ahead of our third league match of the season against Colchester United on Saturday.
Mansfield cruised to the second round of the Carabao Cup by way of a resounding 6-1 victory over Accrington Stanley on Tuesday night, an evening that saw manager David Flitcroft make four changes to the side that featured against Yeovil.
Assistant manager Futcher spoke of the strength in Stags’ squad, adding that the players who featured took their opportunity.
“We’ve had a good start [to the season],” he said. “Obviously the first game of the season we had a fantastic performance and result.
“We then went to Yeovil which was a tough game, [that left us with] things to work on but left with a point.
“Then, the other night [Stags’ 6-1 win over Accrington], for everyone who was here I’m sure they really enjoyed it.
“We’ve put a lot of hard work in on the training ground. The lads have really bought into it. We’ve tried changing the style since we’ve been in over the summer. Pre-season was massive for that. A lot of credit goes to the boys because they’ve really bought in.
“When you see the football like the sixth goal, it’s really pleasing and I hope everyone’s enjoying it.
“They were down to 10 at the time because they had to take someone off but full credit goes to our boys because the [sixth] goal was fantastic.
“It was probably the best goal I’ve been involved in since I’ve been in coaching. It was fantastic and great to see. I think you could see when we scored all the lads were in shock, they were that happy. It was brilliant and capped off a fantastic night for the club.
“The squad is in a really good place and everyone is firing on all cylinders. It’s certainly given the manager some food for thought.”
“When you make some changes and the lads come in, you want to see them take their opportunity and everyone has done that. Some lads got a little rest and some lads got the opportunity and they’ve taken it.
“The squad is in a really good place and everyone is firing on all cylinders. It’s certainly given the manager some food for thought.”
Ahead of tonight’s second round Carabao Cup draw, Futcher explained that he is hoping for a home fixture.
“There are some fantastic draws. A lot of the Premier League teams have come in now. Obviously we want a Premier League side or a local one against someone like Forest would be fantastic.
“We’ll wait and see but hopefully it’ll be a good draw for the football club. We like it at home at the minute and we really enjoy playing here so anyone at home will be a good draw for us.”
Stags’ assistant boss also revealed that midfielder Calum Butcher has been taken off the transfer list.
“Calum [Butcher] has come off the transfer list. He’s definitely part of what we’re doing. I think it was always a difficult one with Butch because he really didn’t enjoy it here last season.
“He was keen to leave in the summer after what happened last season. But he’s come in and really got his head down. He’s worked really closely with the manager and worked hard in training.
“Whenever he’s come in he’s been great and he’s really enjoying his football at the moment. I think you saw on Tuesday night a Calum Butcher who’s fit, firing and enjoying his football is definitely a great addition to our squad.
“Butcher is an attacking-midfielder. He’s had two promotions out of League One playing as an attacking-midfielder and that’s where we see him.
“Like you saw the other night, he had a hand in two or three goals and was fantastic. He can run, is powerful and dynamic. When he’s on it, like he was the other night, he’s a real handful.”
Futcher then looked ahead to this weekend’s fixture, as we welcome Colchester United for a 3pm kick-off at One Call Stadium.
“[Colchester are a] good side,” he said. “They’ve been building now for two or three years and they’ve invested in the summer. They signed Harry Pell for a considerable amount of money and they’re going to be strong this season.
“They were excellent on Saturday against Port Vale. It’s a really tough game. We’re worrying about us and what we do. That’s all we’ve done this season is focus on what we do and the players going out there to express themselves and enjoy their football.
“We really want to try and get at anyone at home, no matter who it is. We want to really impose ourselves on them and get a strong result.
“I think in the pre-season games the fans could really see what we were trying to do. They all got right behind the lads. That’s followed into the start of the season and the results have backed that up.”
iFollow Stags subscribers can watch Ben Futcher’s interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later today.
