Archived News from March 2008
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HOLLAND REACTION
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Paul Holland reaction from Radio Nottingham, here
------------------ Make Holland manager - Hereford boss CHAD.co.uk, 12Mar2008 EXPERIENCED Hereford manager Graham Turner has urged the Stags hierarchy to make Paul Holland the permanent Mansfield Town boss. Turner was impressed at the quality of the Stags' play in his side's Tuesday night 1-0 victory Holland's first game in charge of the Stags as caretaker manager. And Turner said Holland, one of the candidadtes to succeed Billy Dearden who departed on Saturday, deserved a chance to show what he can do. He told Chad: "That was a very tough game as we thought it would be with the change of manager." "I thought we played well first half against the wind, but in the second half I thought we were very poor and relied too much on the performance of our goalkeeper to get the three points. "That culminated in his penalty save. It wasn't a bad penalty either so it was a good save. "You often get a reaction with a change of manager which we faced tonight. And if that is the way they are going to perform for him then he deserves a crack at it. "I think we contributed to our own problems, but I thought Mansfield played very well and put us under a lot of pressure." Full story at CHAD website: http://www.chad.co.uk/stags/Make-Holland-manager--Hereford.3868823.jp --- Keeper calls for fans' backing CHAD.co.uk, 12Mar2008 MANSFIELD Town keeper Jason White, surprisingly called into action during the first half of Tuesday's defeat against Hereford, has issued a rallying call to Stags fans. White, a first half substitute after a groin injury forced Carl Muggleton off the pitch, tasted action for the first time since October - and didn't let caretaker boss Paul Holland down. After the unlucky 1-0 defeat he called on the fans to continue to back the players in their relegation battle. Just 1,606 fans were at Field Mill on Tuesday night - the lowest League crowd of the season. But after the boos on Saturday, this time there were cheers for the players at the end of the unlucky defeat - the ninth in the last 10 matches at the Mill. White said: "We are in a relegation dogfight . . . we need everyone here to be the 12th man. "Those who came tonight were fantastic, but we need more here. "We all need to pull together, we need the crowd behind us more than ever." Full story at CHAD website: http://www.chad.co.uk/stags/Keeper-calls-for-fans39-backing.3868726.jp ----------------- 'No one can come in and know players better than Dutch' Evening Post Gareth Jelleyman believes caretaker boss Paul Holland deserves to stay on as manager after proving he can motivate the Mansfield team. The Stags put in one of their best home performances for a while against Hereford last night only to lose 1-0. And Jelleyman is hoping for continuity going into the weekend's trip to Bradford. "I would definitely like to see Dutch in charge. He knows what everyone can offer and there is no one who can come in who will know the players better than he does," said Jelleyman. "You can see how we played in this match that the team have responded to him and it would be great if he gets it. "Dutch has taken the pressure off us. He has told us to get the ball down and pass it like we can do in training. "The boys went out there and put that into practice and you could see the results. "But we know it is still up in the air and it could be someone different by Saturday. If it isn't him, we'll just have to see who else comes in and then go again from there." Jelleyman said the players had restored some pride after the way they were demolished 4-0 by Rochdale in their previous home game. And more of the same in their last 11 matches will give them an excellent chance of retaining League Two status, he said. "We threw everything at them but sometimes it does not go your way. This was one of those days. The free-kick which led to the goal should have been ours, but the way we picked ourselves up from the goal was important. "We performed very well and didn't get the result but if we play like that between now and the end of the season, we are going to win more than we lose." Full story at: http://www.thisismansfieldtown.co.uk/news/-No-one-can-come-in-68883520.aspx ---------------- Caretaker Holland praises players CHAD.co.uk STAGS caretaker boss Paul Holland saluted his players despite yet another home defeat as the Field Mill hoodoo continued with a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of high flying Hereford. After being rightly booed off the pitch at the weekend, according to Holland, he said his players fully deserved the cheers from the small crowd which watched the first Mansfield Town match since manager Billy Dearden's departure on Saturday evening. And he said that if the players repeated Tuesday night's level of performance they would definitely avoid relegation - even though a ninth defeat in 10 home matches left them five points from safety, albeit with two games in hand. Holland said: "I was delighted with the performance. They did everything I asked of them and it was probably some of our best football of the season. "I just told them to go out there and express themselves. "With Nathan Arnold in for Jefferson Louis we did not have a big, physical presence so we had to get it down and play. "We conceded to a dubious free kick but showed a lot of character after that. "Hereford are a very good team and I thought that was a great advert for League Two football. "I tried to relax them and take some of the fear away, though I didn't do anything different to Billy (Dearden). "I asked them to go and put on a performance for Billy and they half did that. We got the performance, but not the win. "I have heard some of the fans saying I am overweight and not the man for the job, but we will let the powers that be decide that. I know the lads in the dressing room are backing me. "If we can play like that for the last 11 games we will be fine. "I met Stephen Booth (chief executive) last night (Monday) and he told me the ball is in my court as I was picking the team and in charge tonight. "I have licence to bring players in and have been on the phone all day. I hope to bring in a couple by the weekend when I hope to still be in charge." He added: "I will leave the managerial talk and decisions to the powers-that-be . . . the players backed me tonight and now is not the right time to bring someone new into the football club in my opinion." One of his key decisions before the match was to bring in Arnold for Louis up front and the youngster repaid him with a fine performance. Holland said: "I am a great fan of his, we just have to give him the chance to go out there and express himself." Holland also revealed that he had spoken to most members of the squad individually before the match, explaining his reasons for the team selection which also saw Rory Boulding back on the substitutes bench. He told Chad: "Everyone in the squad has a part to play now and until the end of the season. "I had a personal chat with most of the squad. "I gave them the option of a day off tomorrow (Wednesday), but most are coming in anyway. That shows the commitment from the lads! "Today has been a long day, but the lads stood up to be counted and I am delighted with them. "They are more upbeat in the dressing room now, even though we have lost. We passed the ball well and played with no fear, which is what I wanted." ------------------ rivals.co.uk: Dawson Backs Boulding By StagsOnline - 14/03/2008 09:29 Stephen Dawson is backing Michael Boulding to bounce back from his stoppage time penalty miss against Hereford at Bradford. The Stags' top scorer had a chance to salvage a late point against Hereford on Tuesday night from the spot. But Wayne Brown pulled off a stunning save to clinch a 1-0 victory for the Bulls and condemn the Stags to a ninth home defeat in ten games. Irishman Dawson is confident Boulding will have the strength of character to bounce back in West Yorkshire as the Stags looked to make it seven unbeaten on the road. "No one was to blame for the defeat to Hereford, least of all Mickey, so I'm not going to criticise him for missing a penalty," he said. "It wasn't like it was a bad kick anyway. He has put it in the corner and the keeper has pulled off a great save." "In fact, if if wasn't for Mickey's 20 goals we would be dead and buried and already relegated by now." "Mickey was obviously down after the game, but he will get over it and it wouldn't surprise me if he pops up with a goal at Bradford." Dawson felt mixed emotions after the Hereford game because he knew the Stags had played well but failed to capitalise with any points. He knows the Stags cannot afford to let games keep slipping away, especially as the team are now five points adrift of League Two safety with 11 games left. Dawson said: "There was not a lot more we could have done to win the game. The performance shows what we can do." "The passing and movement was good and no one who had seen us play for the first time would believe we are second bottom in the league." "But we need to start getting the points. That is what Hereford did and all credit to them for that." "Points are all that matter at this point in the season and that was another three gone." |
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