Manager Nigel Clough has called for his side to be on the ‘front foot’ this Saturday as Stags look to continue their unbeaten home league form against a ‘dangerous’ MK Dons outfit.
Mansfield sit fourth in Sky Bet League Two with a game in hand on most of the club’s promotion rivals; fresh from what will be a ten-day break without a game due to Stags’ elimination from the Emirates FA Cup.
Speaking to iFollow Stags this morning in a news conference at RH Academy, Nigel said: “We need to get on the front foot.
“We had a lot of the ball against Tranmere [in the last game] but didn’t create as much as we would have liked.
“There is a way that teams are coming and playing at times, sitting there and then we’ve got to break them down without being vulnerable on the counterattack.
“If we can get that first goal it is so important, it can change the whole game.”
On the weekend’s opponents, the gaffer said: “They’re [MK Dons] a very dangerous team.
“They’ve got some very good players – a lot of League One players as well.
“They’re a good footballing side all over the pitch. I wouldn’t rule out them making a charge because of the quality of the squad.
“Mike [Williamson] has gone in there now and that will mean a few changes. He’s proved at Gateshead what he can do. It’s going to be a very tough game.”
The manager believes Mansfield’s break in the fixture schedule came at a beneficial time.
“It was nice to get a few days away from training,” he said.
“It was good thinking time if anything – reflecting on how the first three months of the season has gone.
“Generally, I think we have to be extremely pleased with how it’s [the season so far] gone. We have only lost the one league game – I’m still angry about that at Swindon – but in general terms I think we’re in good shape.
“Players are coming back from injury and it’s looking good.”
On the squad’s injury latest, the boss provided a further update.
“He [Ollie Clarke] had done the one training session [prior to Tranmere] but we thought we needed him in the [matchday] 18. He came on and had an impact as he does,” he added.
“I thought he got the crowd going. He’s an important player for us.
“We play three in there [midfield] so we need cover for them all and we have got some good players.
“He [Stephen McLaughlin] is coming along. He’s training and he’ll probably be back on the bench on Saturday if all goes well, if he comes through training this week.
“He [Louis Reed] just needed to get through one more game against Tranmere [without a booking] and he was aware of that but in the circumstances, he couldn’t avoid the yellow card. The lad was close to going through, it was a definite yellow card.
“James Gale is coming along as we thought. He’s going to be back towards the end of January.
“Elliott Hewitt continues to hit his markers as we’re going. He’s scheduled to be back training in early February. We’re not too far away from that which is good, he’s six or seven weeks away from starting to join in. That’s great news.”
On potential transfer window activity next month, Nigel went on to say: “I think [the club’s January transfer activity] is going to depend a lot on how we get through the next six games.
“We’re very happy with the squad at the moment. There’s always something that crops up where you might take one but if everybody comes through unscathed, we’ve got six games in the next 22 days which is a heavy schedule, then we may just leave it.
“We’ll see what sort of shape we’re in then. It’s a nice position to be in.”
