Stags’ boss David Flitcroft has hailed Mansfield’s ‘unbelievable’ support, after 1,465 of the amber and blue army travelled to the PTS Academy Stadium for Saturday afternoon’s 1-1 draw with Northampton Town.
Wing-back Mal Benning opened the scoring directly from a corner on 12 minutes, before Sam Foley equalised for the Cobblers in the second-half.
The manager says that his players showed ‘resilience’ in the match, but called for added ‘composure’ heading forward.
“We showed that resilience, togetherness and spirit,” he said. “These boys are trying – you could argue they’re trying too hard and perhaps not being calm.
“It’s important when you do get it back, there’s a calmness and a composure. That’s what we’ll be working on this week with the players.
“It’s something that you work on in training. You can never recreate what they’ll be out here doing.
“Our fans were unbelievable. Selling out the full quota, the numbers they brought, they were unbelievable.
“Our goal didn’t really settle us. I wanted us to be calmer, but we weren’t. We’ll get the boys back into work on Monday and start gearing them up for another massive game in the Easter period.”
"Our fans were unbelievable. Selling out the full quota, the numbers they brought, they were unbelievable."
The Stags’ boss says that although the 1-1 draw adds another point to the total, he was left disappointed by the final result.
“It’s a hard-earned point. It’s disappointing when you’re one to the good. The one [set piece] they’ve not got right, they score from,” he added.
“They’re very direct in their approach, so you need to be able to defend corners, and we did. But the one that we didn’t, it cost us the three points.
“I think Danny [Rose] had the best chance, and you’re just waiting for the net to bulge because it’s Rosey.
“We have to make sure that we are tidier in our work. We weren’t pristine enough and there was an edginess to our performance.
“I now have to make sure I settle the boys down for a really big [Easter] weekend and that’s what I’m committed to doing.
“We’ll get the boys feeling good about themselves, and we’ll kick on again. A point adds to the total, but we aren’t pleased with that point.
“It was too frantic and too rushed. Northampton changed for shape and went man-for-man with us. There were times where we had more time and could’ve shown more composure.
“There will be moments like that again where we need to have that composure and be better on the ball. That’ll help us create more chances.
“Northampton are in transition. That’s what we came up against, a team full of players fighting for their individual right to stay in the game.
“I think those teams that are safe in the middle of the table, you have lads fighting for their livelihoods.”
With the Stags sitting third in the table following the latest round of matches in Sky Bet League Two, the manager expressed his satisfaction at Mansfield still having their ‘destiny’ in their own hands.
“It’s a stage of the season when you want to be in that top three. You want to have that destiny in your own hands, and we still have that.
“There will be more twists and turns, there always is. We’re certainly fighting and the players care, that’s what I can assure people.
“They care about each other and doing well for our supporters and the football club. We have to make sure that there isn’t over-trying, which tenses you up a little bit.
“That’s what we’ll be looking at, to try and relax the boys a little ahead of next week.”
iFollow Stags subscribers can watch the manager’s interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later today.
