Assistant manager Lee Glover says that Stags’ ‘top drawer’ facilities emphasise that the club is on an ‘upward trajectory.’
The former Nottingham Forest striker was appointed as John Dempster’s assistant boss in May of this year, and is therefore currently enjoying his first pre-season with the Stags.
Glover spoke of Mansfield’s ‘fantastic’ facilities, with the amber and blue now based at the state-of-the-art RH Academy training complex.
“It’s good to get on the training ground with the lads, and the gaffer [John Dempster] has made me feel very welcome so I’m enjoying it,” he began.
“We’ve been very positive around the boys and they seem to be responding to that. Everything is going well up to now.
“For the level we’re at, the facilities are fantastic. That bodes well, and I think the players need to respect that and understand that you don’t get this at other clubs at our level.
“A facility like this [The RH Academy] would help most clubs outside the top-end of the Championship.
“I think everything is very positive. We have a good facility here and you can tell that people are trying to make the club successful.
“It’s very good to be able to offer these facilities to the lads. Anyone that we sign or bring in knows that the club is on an upward trajectory. The facilities are top drawer.
“The support has been very good here, the away support has been great. It will be nice to play at the [One Call] stadium.
“They [pre-season friendlies] are great fixtures for us. They are good tests, for them as well as us. We want to see how the players do and how they respond against Championship players.”
The assistant manager says that although there are no immediate transfers in the pipeline for the Stags, the two trialists that featured in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Alfreton Town will play some part in Wednesday evening’s pre-season friendly against Blackburn at One Call Stadium.
“We can see there is ability there [in the squad]. They are good players and their attitude has been good.
“Hopefully we can build on that and go one step further this season. We’ve done a little bit of business – the chairman [John Radford] has managed to get a few deals over the line for the club.
“The squad itself was strong to start with. Whether there will be any more comings and goings, there might be a bit more, but nothing major now.
“I wouldn’t say there is anything imminent, but I’d say we have a few irons in the fire. We’ve spoken to a few players, but there won’t be anything immediate.
“I think they [trialists that played against Alfreton] will be involved [against Blackburn] and play some part in the game.
“They both did well at Alfreton and will play some part. Alfreton was a test, but I think tomorrow [Blackburn friendly] will be a different kind of test.
“Tomorrow you might see some more flair players who might ask different questions of us. It will be a different test.
“There might be an expectation for the opponents to have more of the ball, but we want to keep the ball ourselves and see how we can keep it against them.”
Glover also confirmed that defender Hayden White will feature against Rovers, while also providing updates on the injuries to centre-back Noah Stokes and forward Craig Davies.
“I think he [White] will play some part [against Blackburn]. He’s come through training and it didn’t seem to have any ill effects, so we’ll be very pleased to see him back on the pitch.
“He’s a good player in this league and the one above. I worked with him at Peterborough and he’s a good player. Getting him back available is great.
“We picked up a nasty injury the other day with Noah [Stokes], but it [injury news] is more positive than we originally thought. He’ll be with the medical team for the next few weeks.
“I wouldn’t want to put a timescale on it. It depends on how the knee settles down in the next few days.
“Craig [Davies] is still plugging away and trying to get a return to fitness, which is difficult. We want him back.”
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