Stags’ boss David Flitcroft is looking for the same amount of effort from his players that they showed in the narrow 1-0 loss to Accrington Stanley at One Call Stadium on Good Friday.
Left-back Mal Benning was sent off in the 13th minute of the game, but Stags responded well to going a man down, being the better side for the majority of the afternoon.
Despite this, Stanley skipper Seamus Conneely’s 60th minute header was the difference between the two sides on the day.
Stags make the long trip to Kenilworth Road on Monday to face Luton Town, and Flitcroft is looking for the same application that he saw in Friday’s game.
“Psychologically and physically, these are the two big outputs that the lads have had today,” he said, speaking after the game. “But you could see by their reaction after the game that they understand that they were absolutely fighting to the death for each other.
“We’ll have to reboot and re-galvanise again over the weekend and make sure that we go there and make sure that our application levels are the same as today.”
The Stags’ boss was full of praise for his players after the fight they showed at One Call Stadium, but conceded that Luton on Monday will be another tough battle.
“We’ve got two days now and we have very good staff here and a good support structure.
“The next two days will be about mentally getting round the players by lifting them, and then getting them physically right by getting them in good condition for a tough game on Monday.
“We’ll have to reboot and re-galvanise again over the weekend and make sure that we go there and make sure that our application levels are the same as today.”
“They’re on top of you [at Kenilworth Road]. It’s one of those old stadiums where they can get on top of you and they use it really well down there.”
Flitcroft also gave an injury update on top scorer Danny Rose ahead of Monday’s game, and said there is a chance he could feature in the big match.
“Potentially – he might be able to feature in some of the game, he’s in all weekend for extensive rehab and we’re hoping that he can play some part.”
iFollow Stags subscribers can watch the full post-match interview, plus words from skipper Zander Diamond, by logging into www.mansfieldtown.net/ifollow.
