Archived News from February 2015
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MORECAMBE PREVIEWS/RAVENHILL OUT FOR A FEW WEEKS
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Murray sets targets ahead of Morecambe test
mansfieldtown.net, 9th February 2015 Boss speaks to the media ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Morecambe. Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/murray-sets-targets-ahead-of-morecambe-test-2258607.aspx#4i8hlFPOqLx84RQ0.99 Manager Adam Murray insists our players will take it ‘one game at a time’ but do whatever it takes to help push us on towards safety in Sky Bet League Two. With 18 games of the campaign to go, we currently occupy 20th position in the league table - jumping up three places following last weekend’s 1-0 home victory over Stevenage. Our team could climb further clear of the drop zone with a win at Morecambe tomorrow, but Murray is taking nothing fore granted and anticipates a tough challenge against a Shrimpers side who have drawn five of their last six games. “It’ll be a tough game,” said Murray. “Morecambe is always a hard place to go. It’s a long journey and they’re a very good team. “I know their manager (Jim Bentley). I’ve done a couple of courses with him and he’s a top man who knows his stuff. He’s very intelligent and always sets his team up whilst bearing in mind the opposition, so we’re expecting a tough test. He continued: “But we’ve got a lot of confidence at the minute even though we haven’t picked up the results of late that I feel we deserve. The performance levels have been high, the application and work-rate has been superb and we must continue that tomorrow night. “We’ve got 18 games left and every one is going to be a World Cup final. We have to approach every game now as an individual game. We’ve got a certain amount of wins targeted that we want to achieve and we will use all the ingredients and tools in the squad to do so.” Asked if Saturday’s win has lifted the mood within the playing camp, he said: “It’s obviously helped. I think with the amount of effort that been put into the job by everybody at the minute, we were ‘over the moon’ to get the three points. “The whole football club, and I include the fans in that, have been giving 110% in everything they can. “From the people on the desks to the ladies that do the cleaning in the club, we’ve all been pulling in the same direction and everybody has been grafting, so to get the three points on Saturday was a real boost for the football club.” One player who missed Saturday’s game was Ricky Ravenhill. The 34-year-old encountered hamstring problem prior to the match, which meant that Jamie McGuire was brought into the starting XI as a late replacement for him. Scans have now revealed that Ravenhill will be out of action for a few weeks. Our boss added: “It’s obviously a big blow for us. Ricky felt his hamstring and pulled out of the warm up and he’s going to be a big miss for us because I think he’s been superb around the place. “He had a scan today and we’re probably going to be looking at [him being out] for a few weeks.” Chris Clements is also a doubt for tomorrow night’s game at the Globe Arena after suffering a knock to his ankle in the closing stages of our weekend victory. ---------------- Adam Murray prepares Mansfield Town for 18 ‘World Cup finals’ chad.co.uk, by Stephen Thirkill, 09 February 2015 Boss Adam Murray says Mansfield Town have 18 ‘World Cup’ finals ahead as they battle to beat the drop. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/adam-murray-prepares-mansfield-town-for-18-world-cup-finals-1-7097474 Stags secured a morale-boosting 1-0 win over Stevenage on Saturday to haul themselves out of the League Two relegation zone. The result left Murray delighted and quick to praise the committment shown by everyone at the club. “The Stevenage win has given us a boost, there has been a lot of effort going in at the club,” he said. “The players, the fans and everyone behind the scenes are all pulling in the same direction. “Performance levels have been high of late and the work-rate has been superb. The win has given us a boost. I felt we deserved the win and it is important that we continue that on Tuesday night. “We have got 18 World Cup finals ahead. We need to take each game on an individual basis, We have got a target of wins that we want to achieve and we will use all the resources in our squad to get them.” Murray also made it clear that Mansfield Town would have to battle for every point available and to win ugly if needed. Added Murray: “We are in League Two at the moment, we cannot go out and play like Barcelona. What we have to do is use what we have got in the most efficient way to get three points. “We have got some fantastic footballers at this club, but we have also got gritty characters who can play the other sort of game, as we showed on Saturday. “We will be going in to each game with a different game plan, and if that means making a game scrappy to get three points then that is what we will do. “I want to play free-flowing football with pace and energy and to be creative, but at the end of the day it is about three points and you have to do what you have to do to get the points.” Stags face a struggling Morecambe side, who have not won in six, on Tuesday night. They will be without Ricky Ravenhill, who pulled a hamstring during the warm-up on Saturday and faces a few weeks on the sidelines. Chris Clements is also likely to miss out after he suffered a deep gash to his ankle during the Stevenage win that needed stitches. -------------------- Morecambe boss Bentley ready for physical Mansfield clash lancasterguardian.co.uk Morecambe boss Jim Bentley knows his side will be in for a real physical test when Mansfield visit the Globe Arena on Tuesday night. http://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/sport/football/morecambe-fc/morecambe-boss-bentley-ready-for-physical-mansfield-clash-1-7097789 Adam Murray’s side pulled themselves out of the relegation zone with a first win in seven, 1-0 over Stevenage, on Saturday while The Shrimps will be looking for their first victory of 2015 having seen their unbeaten start to the new year end with a 2-1 defeat at in-form Northampton. The game represents the start of a big week for Bentley’s side with a second home game to come against Dagenham & Redbridge on Sunday. The Shrimps, who have scored just one goal in their last four home games, are seven points off the play-offs and 10 points clear of the Football League trap door with Bentley knowing six points out of six would see his side firmly looking up the League 2 table. He said: “It’s a big week. “We’ve got two home games and people will look at the league positions of Mansfield and Dagenham & Redbridge but there’s no easy games in this league. “We don’t underestimate anyone. “Mansfield haven’t been on a great run but all their recent games have been very, very close. “They’re a big club with a big squad and some good players. “It’s going to be tough and they’re a very, very physical side. “We want to do well in front our own fans and pick up points to move up the table.” Andy Parrish is touch and go for the Mansfield clash after coming off at half-time at Northampton due to illness. Ryan Williams has been struggling with neck pain while Stewart Drummond’s knee injury means he continues to miss out. Andy Wright is set to return to full training this week after his hernia operation. ----------------- Things are looking up for Shrimps lep.co.uk A first win of 2015 will be Morecambe’s aim this evening when they welcome Mansfield Town to the Globe Arena. http://www.lep.co.uk/sport/things-are-looking-up-for-shrimps-1-7098175 After drawing their first five games of the new year, the Shrimps were narrowly beaten 2-1 on Saturday at in-form Northampton Town. The defeat saw the Cobblers leapfrog over Jim Bentley’s men in the League Two table. Now seven points behind the play-offs, Morecambe could claw some ground back by disposing of Mansfield - who are in 20th position in the table, just three points above the relegation zone. However, the Stags collected their first win in eight games on Saturday when they defeated Stevenage 1-0. And Bentley has warned his men of the dangers of complacency. “At the moment, it is all to play for,” Bentley said. “The league is tight - there are no weak teams in the division. “We have no divine right to just turn up and beat any team. “You know that if you want to win a game in this division, you have to be at your best or as close to it as possible. “I think sometimes people think, because we are in the top half of the table, we should just go out and beat the likes of Mansfield. “But that’s wrong. It’s a very tight league. “A couple of wins will push you right up into the play-off picture but a couple of defeats will see you get dragged in at the bottom. “After a win you start looking up, but after a draw or a defeat, you start looking down slightly to see who has won below you. “That’s where we are at the minute but it’s nice that we are closer to the play-offs than we are to the relegation zone. “But we have got to ?make sure we keep going and we keep striving to do better. “We want to make sure we are looking up, rather than down over the second half of the season.” ------------------- |
Latest | February 2015