Archived News from January 2014
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SCUNTHORPE PREVIEWS/MURRAY COY ON TRANSFER TARGETS
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video interview with Assistant Manager Adam Murray
http://www.player.mansfieldtown.net/latest-news/article/3612079 ------------- Murray coy on transfer targets mansfieldtown.net 9th January 2014 Assistant Manager Adam Murray has hinted that we may look to sign some young players during the transfer window. Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/murray-coy-on-transfer-targets-1283653.aspx#4JMdTSbgZOgzEB85.99 Our second in command wouldn’t be drawn on any particular names, but he insists anyone that we do sign must fit in with the team-spirit that we have at the club. Murray said: “I think people are aware that there are talks going on with players. Fresh new faces have appeared over the last couple of days, but we don’t want to go into too much detail. “There are some good players around. The good thing is that you even look at some of the younger players at Premier League or Championship teams, and the standard of football has gone up dramatically. “You look at players like Darryl Westlake who have had that experience of playing in the Football League, and they make a big difference to your team. “There are a lot of undiscovered gems out there and it’s about picking the right ones out, who are going to bring strengths to our team.” He continued: “There’s a lot of talking going on, but nothing is concrete yet. “The gaffer went to watch a game yesterday to run his eye over one or two [potential new players], so things are still in the talking process at the minute. “I know that at times like this, fans in the outside world want to see movement quickly, but it’s a patience game as we don’t want to bring someone in that isn’t going to fit into the group. “We’ve got a good spirit in the group, so to bring someone in for the sake of doing so wouldn’t be the right thing to do.” “Over time things have shown that we are missing an ‘x factor’ in key areas that maybe makes a difference in tight games, but the big thing is bringing the right player in.” When asked if we would sign any new players before Saturday’s Sky Bet League Two match with Scunthorpe United, Murray replied: “I wouldn’t like to say to be honest. “We all know in this crazy game that an hour is a long time, so we’ll have to wait and see.” However, one player who has returned to One Call Stadium in the last 24 hours is full-back Darryl Westlake. The 22-year-old has extended his loan spell from Sheffield United until the end of the campaign, and our assistant manager is pleased we have secured his services. Murray added: “He showed what he was about [in his initial loan spell] and he’s been a big improvement to our team and to our squad, not just on the pitch, but off it too. “He’s a great lad and built into the team spirit that we have, so to capture him for the rest of the season is big for us. “With Darryl, you see an extra ‘x factor’ what Football League experience gives you. He’s a very intelligent player, as well as having great ability.” -------------------- Stags still seek new faces as table-topping Scunthorpe head for Mansfield chad.co.uk, 09/01/2014 Mansfield Town continue to work hard to bring in players in the current transfer window - but assistant manager Adam Murray said he couldn’t promise anything would materialise in time for Saturday’s visit of League Two leaders Scunthorpe United (3pm). http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/stags-still-seek-new-faces-as-table-topping-scunthorpe-head-for-mansfield-1-6363073 But at least the Stags have completed one good piece of business by signing on-loan Sheffield United defender for the rest of the season. “There is a lot of talking going on at the minute but nothing concrete as yet,” said Murray. “The gaffer went to watch a match yesterday to run an eye over one or two players. “I know fans want to see movement quickly. But it’s a patience game at the minute. They have to be the right players. We don’t want someone who doesn’t fit into the group. “We know we are missing that bit of X-factor in key areas which makes the difference in tight games. “We all know how in this crazy game an hour is a long time. So it wouldn’t be right to say yes or no as to if we will get someone in for the weekend. “We are not sitting on our backsides. But I don’t want to say we are about to sign X,Y, Z as people get poached very quickly.” However, Murray was delighted the Westlake deal had been sorted and said: “Darryl has shown everyone what he is about. He is a great lad and slotted into the team spirit on and off the park. “You can see he has that bit of extra X-factor that having a bit of Football League experience gives you. He is a very intelligent player as well as having great ability. “Darryl has made a big difference to the team. There are a lot of undiscovered gems out there. It is finding the right ones that will bring something to our team.” Murray was full of praise for the side’s defending under intense pressure as the home side threw everything but the kitchen sink at them in last weekend’s 1-0 win at Exeter. He said: “It was like deep sea diving - we couldn’t have gone any deeper. But we can’t keep playing the last 20 minutes with six goalkeepers. “Our desire to not concede at the end of games has been tremendous, but we now have to start imposing ourselves more on other teams.” Tomorrow Stags will be looking for their first home win in 10 games in all competitions against a side that has won six and drawn two of their last eight games and beat Mansfield 2-0 at home on the opening day of the season. The Iron will be roared on by between 1,000 and 1,200 fans. The last times the sides met at Mansfield was back in February 2005 when an Adam Murray goal was all that was needed for a 1-0 win that knocked leaders Scunthorpe off top spot. So Stags will be hoping lighting strikes twice. “That makes me feel old, though I do hear he was a decent player,” he smiled. “Scunthorpe are a good team with great experience at Football League level in the squad. “They have some good young players and a mix of experience in there too. I know some of their boys and they are a high. They are not top for no reason. “But we can go into the game full of confidence after our last few results. “It’s been a comedown for us this week after the last couple of weeks with so many games and having kids at Christmas. When it’s 4000mph, you don’t realise how much you put into it, not just on the pitch but mentally and with all the travelling as well.” --------------------- Marlon Harewood: Mansfield Town interested in Bristol City striker http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25672107 Mansfield Town assistant manager Adam Murray has confirmed Bristol City striker Marlon Harewood is on their shortlist of transfer targets. The ex-Nottingham Forest forward, 34, has played 17 times for City this term but not appeared since late November. Murray told BBC Radio Nottingham: "He has been on the list and is one that we have looked at. "He is a good player and his career has proved his quality. Whether we sign him is a totally different ball game." Stags striker Ollie Palmer said he would welcome Harewood to the One Call Stadium. "To have someone like Marlon at the club would be really exciting," Palmer said. "If he could come it would be great. I could learn from him and it would be a big positive for me." --------------- Video; Palmer and Jennings look ahead to Scunthorpe match Stags Player subscribers can hear from forward Ollie Palmer and defender James Jennings in the build up to Saturday's match at home to Scunthorpe. http://www.player.mansfieldtown.net/latest-news/article/3612553/date/20140109123600/page/0/name/video--palmer-and-jennings-look-ahead-to-scunthorpe-match ------------------ Palmer reflects on festive form mansfieldtown.net 9th January 2014 Striker Ollie Palmer believes the 3-0 defeat at Rochdale on Boxing Day has proved to be a catalyst for our recent upturn in fortunes. Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/palmer-reflects-on-festive-form-1284854.aspx#zVCREm0Z0xZ5XCKE.99 Our team go into Saturday’s match with table-toppers Scunthorpe United at One Call Stadium on a three-match unbeaten streak in Sky Bet League Two. Recent victories at Cheltenham Town and Exeter City, along with a point gained from a home draw with Burton Albion, have seen us rise to 16th position. “Our last three results have definitely taken a slight weight off of our shoulders, but we’ve still got a lot of points to pick up, so it’s just the beginning for us. “We’ve had to work hard and defend well to get points, which is part and parcel of the game. “Sometimes you’ve got to win slightly ugly, but it can be effective. If you get a goal and hold on to win, then there isn’t anything wrong with that.” On the Boxing Day defeat at Rochdale, Palmer said: “We kind of took that match on the chin and we said to each other ‘We’ve got to pick ourselves up, this isn’t good enough’. “[The defeat] really woke everyone up. It was the pinnacle for us to end our bad run and I think we’ve managed to do that now. “The games come thick and fast over Christmas and that’s what we needed. Fortunately, we’ve come away from it with two wins and a draw.” He continued: “There were a lot of tired legs out there [at Exeter] and all the boys had to dig deep. “Matt Rhead put in a fantastic shift upfront, Chris Clements and Anthony Howell both worked hard and had really good games, the back three also worked well together. “So the boys dug deep and really grinded out a good result.” On recent changes to our starting formation, Palmer said: “The gaffer had to change things, because we weren’t getting the points. “But the boys who’ve come in when the squad has been rotated have performed. It’s really good and hopefully, we’ve found a winning formula.” ----------------- Rochdale defeat the spur for Stags’ return to form, says Palmer chad.co.uk Mansfield Town striker Ollie Palmer believes the shock of the lacklustre hammering at Rochdale was the catalyst for the side’s improved run of form ahead of tomorrow’s visit of table-topping Scunthorpe United. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/rochdale-defeat-the-spur-for-stags-return-to-form-says-palmer-1-6363111 Stags failed to test the keeper once at Spotland while being lucky only to lose 3-0 in a one-sided affair. Since then, though, they have bounced back to take seven points out of nine and Palmer said: “It really woke everyone up. I think we took Rochdale on the chin and really picked ourselves up. We knew it wasn’t good enough. “It was the pinnacle for us and we knew it had got to be the end of our bad run. I think we have turned it around now. “It is a slight weight of our shoulders, though we know we’ve still got a lot to do and a lot of points to pick up. It’s just the beginning for us. “We had to work hard for them and had to defend well which is part and parcel of the game. Sometimes you have to win slightly ugly, you could say. But it can be effective. “Games came thick and fast over Christmas as they do for all teams and that is what we needed, lots of games on the bounce. “But there were a lot of tired legs at Exeter late on and the boys had to dig deep and grind out a result. “It is a new formation. But, hopefully we can now go on a winning run and have found a winning formula.” Although contributing with some energetic performances, Palmer is frustrated at only scoring three times this season and not finding the net since the big FA Cup win at St Albans on 9th November. “I can’t buy one at the minute which is really frustrating. Fingers crossed I can get one at home to Scunthorpe,” he said. “At least I am having chances and getting into the right place at the right time, so I shouldn’t beat myself up too much. The most important thing is that we are picking up wins. “It will be a tough game tomorrow. If we can get a win, that would be fantastic, but I think as long as we don’t came away with nothing, I think fans will be quite happy. “We had a day off on Monday to recuperate and let our bodies drain out and recover. Then it was an intense session on Tuesday. “We stepped it up again yesterday and everyone should be fresh and ready to go again tomorrow.” ----------------------- Jennings keeps his focus, despite scare over brother’s life chad.co.uk Stags defender James Jennings is trying not to let the scare over his brother’s life-threatening injury play on his mind as he looks to continue regaining his early season form for tomorrow’s visit of League Two leaders Scunthorpe United (3pm). http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/jennings-keeps-his-focus-despite-scare-over-brother-s-life-1-6363103 James’ brother, Connor, has just had three emergency operations amid worries over a blood clot. The Scunthorpe striker had been out on loan at Macclesfield where he thought he had picked up a simple dead leg in his calf. But the 22-year-old has since had to have a total of 64 stitches in his leg on the back of three operations to alleviate the potential of a blood clot, having to open up the calf to relieve the pressure. Jennings said: “He is back on his feet, but it is going to be a long process with rehabilitation. Fingers crossed he can bounce back as he is a strong lad. “These things happen in life. Things happen off the pitch as much as they do on the pitch. “You have got to stay strong mentally and not let it affect your football.” Jennings is now preparing with the squad for tomorrow’s big game and said: “Scunthorpe are probably one of the best sides in our league looking at their current run of form. “But we have got to take out the positives from the last three games and we are on a good run of form as well. “We have just got back to doing what we do best, winning the ball back, everything out of possession, the team ethos, everyone working hard and the desire to win.” At Exeter it was backs-to-the-wall at the end for Mansfield and Jennings said: “It’s not good on the old blood pressure and we can’t keep doing that every game. At Exeter it felt like they had a man more. “We were just dropping off but I don’t think we realised we were doing it. “And when we did get the ball, there were a lot of tired legs. “But to go away to Exeter and get a 1-0 win was a great result and the lads are really buzzing in the dressing room at the minute. “Another clean sheet was great, too, that’s 10 now. It’s then up to the strikers to get the goals at the other end of the pitch. “Myself, I think I have been a bit inconsistent this season but in the last three or four games I have been happier with my own game. I feel I am getting back to how I was in September when we were flying.” --------------------- twitter ?@StephenThirkill Looks like Mansfield Town have missed out on defender Sean McGinty. Northampton confirming he has joined them on a month's loan twitter Sean Taylor @SEANTAYLORpress I understand @mansfieldtownfc's move for Sheff Utd defender Sean McGinty collapsed due to interest from a rival League 2 club #stags -------------------- Sheffield United: Defender deal hits stumbling block http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/sheffiel ... -1-6356889 08 January 2014 Sean McGinty’s proposed loan move to Mansfield Town has collapsed, The Star understands. McGinty, who arrived at Bramall Lane after leaving Manchester United last year, had been poised to join Paul Cox’s side on a short-term basis this week, However, according to sources at the One Call Stadium, the transfer is now unlikely to go ahead although McGinty will still be allowed to depart Bramall Lane in search of the regular first team football he requires in order to further his chances of selection under new manager Nigel Clough. “It’s much better that lads who, for one reason or another, aren’t getting a regular game at the moment spend time with a club where they can,” Clough explained recently. “That way, if a chance arises here, they are in much better position and shape to take it.” Adam Murray, Town’s assistant manager, confirmed Cox is attempting to extend Darryl Westlake’s stay in Nottinghamshire after the United defender’s initial agreement with the League Two club expired. However Murray, speaking to the local media, refused to be drawn on reports that Marlon King is a potential target following his release by Clough earlier this month. “Look at how Darryl Westlake has come in and made a big difference to us,” Murray said. “We are looking at a lot of players on our list. “But it’s now how many we bring in, it’s about the quality of the player. There is no point in bringing in three or four bodies for the sake of it.” *Twitter: @JamesShield1 ------------------------ |
Latest | January 2014