Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough wants to see his side ‘give every ounce they’ve got’ in tomorrow’s match against Scunthorpe United, as the Stags aim to secure their Sky Bet League Two status for next season.
Three points for the amber and blue against Scunthorpe United will see them mathematically safe from relegation, unless Grimsby Town secure victory at home to Morecambe.
The manager says the prospect of achieving safety with three games left to play is the ‘incentive’ for his players.
“That’s the incentive in a nutshell [to secure safety tomorrow]. As warm as it’s going to be and after a tough game on Saturday, we’ll be asking the players to give every ounce they’ve got on Tuesday night,” he told iFollow Stags.
“Scunthorpe are a good side. Neil [Cox, Scunthorpe manager] has done a great job getting them to where they are, as they looked a side that might’ve got dragged into it.
“They’re a good, solid side that can hurt you on the break. I’m sure he [Neil Cox] will be saying the same to his side [as they are just shy of 50 points as well].
“Everyone on the outside says we’re safe now, but when you’re actually in it, you don’t feel like that.
“Sets of freak results can happen in the last three or four games of the season, so we want to make sure that whatever happens elsewhere doesn’t affect us.
“We want to see what we saw on Saturday [on Tuesday], certainly in terms of no mistakes.
“I always fancy us to create chances and score, so don’t make any daft mistakes. Nobody means to make mistakes, but we need to minimise the opportunities to make them and not take chances.”
Reflecting on Saturday’s big win away at Stevenage, the boss described it as an ‘important’ victory.
“It was a brilliant win [against Stevenage] and a hugely important victory for us, as we try to get to that 50-point mark.
“It [win] has been coming for the last few weeks, we’ve been very close to those victories. Without making the silly mistakes that we’ve made, we would’ve had one or two more.
“It was nice not to make a mistake and nice to get a slight break for the goal. Then we looked after the lead in the second-half.
“With the other teams [around us] picking up points, it was important to keep our heads above water.
“With four games to go, we’re a point off that 50-point mark. We’re on a pretty good run, but we have to turn those draws into victories.”
There was also an injury update from the boss, with midfielder Stephen Quinn the only concern from Saturday ahead of Tuesday’s game.
“Stephen Quinn is the main one [injury concern]. He’s been suffering with an ankle problem, which is why he came off on Saturday.
“So he’ll be touch and go. We have a couple of knocks and niggles, but with the game being so important, we’ll try and get most of them out there.”
iFollow Stags subscribers can watch the manager’s interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow.
