Midfielder Will Tomlinson has hailed Mansfield Town’s ‘togetherness’ and ‘commitment’ as they overturned Cambridge United 1-0 at One Call Stadium.
Tomlinson, who was awarded man of the match for his tireless display, spoke highly of his teammates following victory against the U’s.
Tyler Walker struck with deadly precision in the 63rd minute to ensure the Stags took maximum points but the midfielder drew initial attention to his side’s collective work ethic.
“We’ve worked hard all week knowing what we had to do,” he began.
“We knew if we put 100 percent in that we’d get a result and we knew the goal would have come, too.
“Hard work and commitment to each other were crucial. It was a massive push and togetherness in the pitch and the dressing room.
“We came in at half time and knew we had to give an extra 20 percent.
"Hard work and commitment to each other were crucial. It was a massive push and togetherness in the pitch and the dressing room."
“The gaffer said if we do that then we’ll win this game, and we came out and did just that with Tyler getting the goal. It was a great finish as well.”
The ex-Blackburn Rovers man then alluded to his own personal performance that, alongside the three points, yielded the Stags' 17th clean sheet of the season.
“I give it everything when I play. I don’t want to come into the dressing room and be disappointed from something that I can change in myself.
“I go out and give it 100 percent and that’s the minimum I do every week.
“I don’t think I did the best I could on the ball – but I worked hard, running and tackling, and that’s exactly what the gaffer wants me to do."
Saturday afternoon’s victory lifts Mansfield up to second in the Sky Bet League Two table, and the 21-year-old detailed the full-time mood in the Stags’ dressing room.
“It gives us another boost going into next week,” Tomlinson revealed. “We have a massive togetherness in the dressing room.
“No matter if you’re playing, on the bench or have a long-term injury, we’re all there to support each other.
“As soon as the final whistle goes you get an extra burst of energy and you just want to celebrate that win. It’s an absolutely massive win for us.
“Last year we [Blackburn] got promoted but I didn’t play as much as I wanted to, where as I’ve come here and started to play a good part in the season.
“I feel as though I’ve done my bit to help us get towards promotion.”
iFollow Stags subscribers can watch the midfielder's interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later today.
