In-form forward Jordan Bowery has highlighted the unity within the squad and club ahead of this Saturday’s Sky Bet League Two Play-Off Final at Wembley Stadium against Port Vale.
The 30-year-old frontman has enjoyed a fruitful campaign so far, scoring nine goals and providing six assists in 42 appearances.
Jordan, who signed for the Stags in 2020 and was top scorer last season, insists that it doesn’t matter who is amongst the goals this Saturday, just as long as it’s someone in a Mansfield shirt.
“We’re [Bowery & Oates] strikers and strikers are competitive, they want to be the highest scorer,” said Jordan, in a joint news conference with fellow marksman Rhys Oates.
“We’re close off the pitch and I wish nothing but the best for Oatesy [Rhys Oates] and I would love to see him get a hattrick.”
Jordan has twice graced the Wembley surface previously and offered his thoughts ahead of another personal visit to the home of football.
“You’ve just got to play the game, not the occasion because it is a massive game for the fans and for the club, so you’ve just got to go out there and treat it like every other game.
“You’ve just got to go out there and give everything and do it for the town and do it for the badge.
“I have seen on twitter that it was 15,000 [Stags’ tickets sold so far]. It will be a good day and I believe we can do it for them.
“We all know there Is a big prize at the end of it so we’re going to give it everything we’ve got in training and put it out there on Saturday.”
The former Crewe player explained how this squad is different to previous ones he has worked with throughout his career.
“Honestly, it's one of the best, or probably the best groups I've worked with.
“There's no individuals in this team. All the lads get on, everyone's together, singing and having a laugh and it's been like that even when we had that bad run.
“It's the togetherness that the gaffer puts on for us, like going out on golf days and having a few drinks now and again. You need that. It’s not an individual sport, it's a team sport.”
The dynamic forward, who scored in the play-off semi-final, believes this has been one of his most productive seasons.
“I think it's got to be up there [his best seasons].
“Everybody wants to be pushing for something and hopefully one of us [the two strikers] can nick another goal at Wembley and get us through to League One.”
