Defender Elliott Hewitt says he was ‘very happy’ to be named as Stags’ Player of the Year for 2022 and is determined to play a significant part in Mansfield’s remaining 21 games of the campaign.
The 28-year-old, formerly of Grimsby Town, has been a consistent performer this season.
Hewitt, who can be utilised at both centre-back and right-back, won the Player of the Month awards for both October and November, along with the 2022 accolade.
And when asked of his reaction at a news conference today, a modest Hewitt said: “I’m obviously very happy, I think a lot of players could’ve got it.
“There's a lot of people that have been playing well but I just seem to be in the team quite a bit so maybe that has gone in my favour.
“I think I’ve been doing all right. It’s not been amazing but just consistently six [or] seven out of 10 every week [as an individual performance rating]. Fans seem to be enjoying it and if they see that you're working hard then it's all you can do.
”Ahead of Saturday’s visit of Crewe to One Call Stadium, Hewitt assessed the Stags’ current form.
“Very up and down,” he said. “A bit inconsistent but we’re still in with a chance [of getting into the top seven] as there’s still a long way to go. Hopefully we can start picking up points now.
“We’ve played well in a lot of games. We’ve also shown a side where we’ve not played well and picked up points.
“There's also the down side where we’ve not picked up points and played quite well. We’ve conceded a few late goals as well.”
Stags currently sit in ninth position in Sky Bet League Two, level on points with Salford, who occupy the final play-off position.
And Hewitt wants the team to tighten up, as they aim to propel up the table.
“We’re obviously conceding too many goals. I wouldn't say anyone is carving us wide open. I can’t remember how many shots they had on Saturday [at home to Barrow] but it seems like every single thing is going in at the minute.
“Every goal that goes in Pymy [Christy Pym] has no chance with as well so we just need to stop letting teams have one chance because that's all it’s taking at the minute.”
