Forward Rhys Oates says that Mansfield Town’s victory over Tranmere Rovers has given his teammates a ‘massive confidence boost’.
The former Hartlepool United man scored the Stags’ first goal, set up their second and won a penalty in the 2-0 victory at One Call Stadium.
Oates believes the side had deserved more from their previous league encounters and that all three Sky Bet League Two points had been overdue for Mansfield.
"We're all buzzing,” Oates said. “It's a massive lift for all of us, a massive confidence boost.
"Everyone put 100% in from the first minute to the last, working as hard as we can and today we took our chances.
"It's massive because we knew it was coming. It's been a while since we've won a game but we've deserved more from the last two games before this. I think we deserved it [the three points] today and now we've got it the confidence will come back."
Oates showed great attacking prowess in his run to open up Tranmere for his goal as well as trickery and control to set-up Danny Johnson for 2-0.
Asked whether he put in his best performance of the season, Oates said: "Yes 100%.
“I think I just went back to my basics. [I] worked as hard as I could, running [the] channels and that's how we got both of our goals.
"As soon as the ball was turned over, I saw him [Stephen Quinn] get his head up and I just ran. You know with Stephen Quinn, as soon as he sees a run like that he'll find you.
"I've been trying too hard to score in recent weeks. In training I've been scoring a few goals when I've tried to place it [in the corner] a bit more.
"I think I've [reminded] myself that I can score goals. The other day we went through a few clips from last season when I was scoring and how relaxed I was when I was taking my shots. I tried to get back to that today."
The summer signing admitted that Mansfield’s improvement in form and confidence may have come at the right tie, just before an FA Cup tie with Sunderland.
"It's important [to get the points today] but it also gives us the confidence going into next week which is going to be a tough game in the FA Cup,” he said.
“I think the confidence will do us the world of good.
"The pressure's off because [we're] not the favourites but we want to win that game. We want to cause an upset and we're confident that we can do that."
Watch the interview in full now via www.mansfieldtown.net/ifollow
