Archived News from September 2003
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EVENING POST PREVIEW
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CURLE APPEALS TO STAGS FANS
BY IAN WILKERSON, Evening Post, 05 September 2003 Keith Curle appealed to the Mansfield public today to turn out in numbers for tomorrow's Division Three clash with Macclesfield and help him boost his Field Mill squad. Both Maltese international Luke Dimech, who is currently suffering with a cartilage injury, and fellow central defender Dave Artell, face the last matches of their current short-term deals and Curle is desperate to retain their services. And he said a healthy crowd of more than 5,000 for the visit of the Silkmen would help the situation considerably. Curle said; "Everyone has seen what a difference they have made and the more money I can get from the supporters, the more chance we will have of keeping hold of them. "Nothing is going to happen until the chairman comes back from Portugal next week but if we get a decent crowd of more than 5,000 and we put in a performance then it can only help the cause. "Since I came to the club, I know how important it is for the team to play well and with style. "The Mansfield public like to be entertained and I would like to think we have done that in our games against Southend, Scunthorpe and the cup match against Sunderland and we want the same tomorrow." Curle has been impressed with Artell's performances in particular as he has struck up an excellent partnership at the heart of the Stags defence with Welsh Under-21 international Rhys Day. Curle said: "People might see the pair of them play and see they might be lacking a bit of pace but they are both good defenders and have a lot of qualities. "Steve Bruce was never the fastest centre half but he was great at reading situations, seeing where the danger was and shutting it out. "You have to be in the right place at the right time." Stags are looking to bounce back from Saturday's 4-1 defeat at Swansea, which saw both Iyseden Christie and Lee Williamson receive red cards. Christie's dismissal came in the seventh minute and Curle has already launched an appeal with the Football League. But, otherwise, Curle is looking to put the memory of the Vetch Field firmly to bed and maintains the feeling at Field Mill is one of "onwards and upwards." He said; "Last Saturday was really one of those things and I apologise to the supporters who made the trip because we didn't provide value for money, although it wasn't completely our fault. "The nine players who stayed on tried to deliver and we even matched them when we only had ten but the free-kick goal just after half-time killed the game. "It was just a case of getting on the bus and getting home but we have forgotten about that now." MANSFIELD (from): Pilkington, Hassell, Artell, Day, Vaughan, Lawrence, Williamson, MacKenzie, Corden, Christie, Mendes, Larkin, J White, A White, Curtis, Disley. |
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