Mansfield Town defender Farrend Rawson says the Stags’ confidence remains high following their 2-1 away victory over Crawley Town at The People’s Pension Stadium.
The centre-back returned to the starting line-up having been benched for the last three first team fixtures.
Rawson performed well in Mansfield’s strong defensive unit, limiting the hosts to only two shots on target.
The 25-year-old described the dressing room’s high spirits after the important victory in West Sussex.
“The lads are buzzing,” said Rawson. “Everyone can have a massive pat on the back.
“I think it’s a tough place to come especially with the conditions today.
“We played some good stuff, especially [in the] first half. Second half we had the wind against us so it was a lot harder.
“I think first half we played good football and that’s where we probably could have put the game to bed, but it didn’t happen and we had to adapt and dig in.
“We were solid. We were talking [and] communicating, making our lives a lot easier and I think that showed first half with the lack of chances they had.
“Second half I think it was inevitable that they were going to go long and come onto us. We stuck our chest out and took on the challenge and we’ve proven that with the result.
“The lads showed grit [and] determination and I think we could play better but the most important thing is we showed we can dig in and come away with the three points.
“I don’t think today was about playing beautiful football, I think today was about getting the result and that’s what we did.”
The former Forest Green Rovers man started a Mansfield game for the first time since the Stags’ clash with Newcastle Under-21s in the Papa John’s Trophy two and a half weeks ago. Despite this, Rawson slotted alongside his teammates seamlessly.
“It was fine,” he said. “We’ve got some good players here so it’s easy to slot in.
”It’s nice for me personally to get back out there and get a win.
“Everyone on the bench is fighting for a place.
“It’s good to get everyone back and [have] the squad back together.
“Everyone’s fighting for a place [in the team] and that’s healthy. That’s what you want. In all the good squads that’s what they have.”
Rawson says he is looking forward to Mansfield’s next run of fixtures in Sky Bet League Two and he feels that the club have turned a corner from a disappointing start to the campaign.
“I think we were a bit unlucky at the start of the season,” said Rawson. “Things didn’t go our way but we’ve put that behind us now and I think we’ve shown that with the performances we’ve been putting in. Rightly so the results have been following.
“Spirits are high. Confidence is high and the lads are buzzing.
“So [I] can’t wait for the next game.”
