Manager Graham Coughlan has labelled chairman John Radford and co-chairwoman Carolyn Radford as ‘different class’ and ‘unbelievable,’ in a week where the club reflected on a decade under their ownership.
The manager spoke in a news conference on Thursday afternoon and was quick to praise the owners after they reached ten years at the helm with the Stags in late September.
The boss described the job done by John and Carolyn Radford as ‘phenomenal.’
“They [John and Carolyn Radford] have been different class – they’ve been unbelievable, to be fair. They’ve been supportive, they drive you, they push you and that’s something that I enjoy,” he told iFollow Stags.
“Any time you speak to them, they always finish off with ‘how can we support you?’ or ‘can we do any more for you?’ That’s the nature of them.
“What they’ve done at the football club has been phenomenal to be honest with you, not only at the club but in the town.
“I’m sure I speak for every manager who has sat in front of this camera, every coach and every player who has pulled on that yellow jersey, we’d obviously like to thank them for what they’ve done to a very special football club.
“They turned it around and fingers crossed they have another ten years of success.”
Ahead of this weekend’s game against Newport, Graham Coughlan says he expects his side to ‘react’ from their last outing, a 2-1 defeat against Exeter.
“I’d like to see us do the basics better,” he added. “I’d like us to be quicker, sharper and a little more fluid than we were last week [against Exeter].
“I want us to stick to the game plan and the patterns of play that we work on all week. But I’ve said to the players, ‘if we’re not going to play well, make sure we take something out of the game.’
“But let’s not rip the process up and start from scratch – we have been making progress. That elusive victory will come, and after that I think it’ll be a fair judgement.
“Everybody is hurting, the players none more so, so I am expecting a reaction from them. The tide will turn and this group will galvanise themselves. I think this group will certainly react.”
Looking ahead to this weekend’s game at Rodney Parade, he said: “You have to counteract their [Newport’s] physicality and their quality. They are a tough team and a tough nut to crack.”
“They’ve had a real good run. It’s a tough game, a tough place to go and they play some nice football. They can mix the game up physically as well.
“We’ll have to stand toe-to-toe with them, battle them and fight them. If you don’t do the basics right and the battle, you’ll get walked all over.
“They have some confidence and momentum behind them, so they will be a juggernaut that we’ll need to stop.”
Meanwhile, the manager confirmed James Perch would be available for this weekend’s fixture after being unavailable last Saturday.
To watch Graham Coughlan’s interview in full, log in to mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later today.
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