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An independent supporters' website dedicated to Mansfield Town FC
Archived News from October 2016

MURRAY ON CUP DRAW/BANNING MOBILE PHONES/LUTON
22nd October 2016 10:53


Manager reacts to cup draw against Pilgrims
mansfieldtown.net, 18th October 2016

Stags’ boss Adam Murray says his side will be going in to the Emirates FA Cup tie with Plymouth Argyle with a ‘fully focussed view’ to progress to round two.

We were drawn at home to the Pilgrims in last night’s Emirates FA Cup first round draw and the tie will be played on 05 November, with a 3.00pm kick-off.

And after making no secret of the fact that he sees the other cup competitions - the EFL Cup and the Checkatrade Trophy - as a distraction from the Sky Bet League Two campaign, Murray admits that the country’s oldest cup competition is one which he wants to progress in.

“This is one we want to do well in, not just for obviously financial reasons, it can be beneficial if you do well in it, but for the history and I think the passion the cup brings for the game,” Murray said.

Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/2016-17/manager-reacts-to-pilgrims-cup-draw-3369154.aspx#J5cyyorYzfrBI3M8.99

“It’s one of them where as a player and as a manager you want to succeed in so we’ll be going in to this with a fully focussed view to get in to the next round.”

Last season, Stags were knocked out of the competition after being defeated 2-0 in a first round replay by League One side Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park after holding them to a 0-0 draw at One Call Stadium.

Although Murray views the cup tie as ‘a tough draw’, the manager says it’s a game which he believes his side can win and is different to their first round matches over previous years.

“I think the first round can go one or two ways. I think we’ve had draws where we’ve faced good League One opposition, which is always a tough draw to get through, or we’ve had the opposite where we’ve [got a] non-league [club] and it’s a banana skin.

“[It’s a] good draw, obviously a tough game but we’ll go in to it at home, looking to win the game and progress.”

Meanwhile, in other news, the 35-year-old confirmed that he has banned the use of mobile phones at the club after hinting that he would after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Wycombe Wanderers.

“That wasn’t just the emotions talking. I do think it’s a valid point of the way, not just football, but society is at the minute. I think all of us, we’re all guilty, we get lost in this technology world now and we forget the actual core values of human beings.

“We had a ban on phones in certain times anyway - players weren’t allowed to be on their phones because they have to talk to each other. We 'go to war' with each other every weekend, so the communication needs to be high, the value of understanding personalities needs to be high, so instead of it just being in certain times, now we’ve put a complete stop on it.”

Supporters can now watch Adam Murray’s news conference, in full, on Stags PlayerHD.

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Murray craving FA Cup run for Stags
chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Tuesday 18 October 2016

Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray says the Stags are aiming for a good FA Cup run this season.

Last night’s draw saw Mansfield paired at home to League Two leaders Plymouth Argyle on Saturday, 5th November (3pm).

Murray, who had said the EFL Cup and EFL Trophy were something of an unwanted distraction to his small squad and their bid for League Two glory, views the FA Cup very differently and is looking forward to the challenge of overturning the Pilgrims.

“It is a good draw, but a tough game,” he said. “I think the first round can go one of two ways.

Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/murray-craving-fa-cup-run-for-stags-1-8187103

“We’ve had draws where we’ve faced good League One opposition which is always a tough draw to get through.

“Or we’ve had the opposite and you go non-League and it’s a banana skin. We will go into it at home looking to win the game.”

He added: “This is one we want to do well in, not just for financial reasons. It can be beneficial if you do well in it

“For the history and the passion the Cup brings, it’s one of those as a player and a manager you want to succeed in.

“We are going into this with a fully focused view to get into the next round.”

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Stags fear no one in League Two, says boss Murray
chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS
Mansfield Town head for old enemy Luton Town on Saturday (3pm) with boss Adam Murray saying the Stags fear no one in League Two.

The Stags have lost both games at Kenilworth Road without scoring since the Hatters returned to the Football League, suffered a Luton double last year, and have seen Nathan Jones’ side move into fourth place in an impressive start to this season.

But Murray said: “We are under no illusions how tough it’s going to be, but we can match anyone in this league, whether it’s Luton, Portsmouth, Plymouth, the teams you expect to be up there.

“We believe we can compete with them and we’ll be looking to do that. “I’ve not seen anything yet in this league that scares us.

Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/stags-fear-no-one-in-league-two-says-boss-murray-1-8188061?

“This is about us, no one else. I am confident we’ll be up there and fighting.”

He added: “It is 99 per cent on us. This season is about us. If we grab this season by the neck, then we are going to be up there.

“Obviously going to places like Luton, we know how tough it’s going to be as they are a very good team.

“Since they’ve come back into the league, it’s probably the best they’ve looked. I think Nathan (Jones) is doing a good job down there and they’ve established a very strong side.”

Mansfield are unbeaten in five games, though were disappointed to only draw 1-1 with Wycombe last weekend.

“After watching the game back, I believe we should have won it,” said Murray.

“Second half I thought we were excellent and created a lot of chances. But we have to do that for 90 minutes. That is our next stepping stone when we can consistently produce that for a 90-minute period.

“That’s when we start turning these points we are getting into three points.”

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Murray enforces mobile ban at One Call Stadium
chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Tuesday 18 October 2016

Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray has banned mobile phones and social media from the One Call Stadium ahead of Saturday’s tough trip to Luton Town.

Straight after last weekend’s frustrating 1-1 home draw with Wycombe an emotional Murray accused his players of lacking the ability to communicate and threatened to totally ban mobiles.

That threat has now been carried through and Murray said: “That wasn’t just the emotions talking.

“I do think it’s a valid point and the way, not just football, but society is at the minute.

Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/murray-enforces-mobile-ban-at-one-call-stadium-1-8188029

“We are all guilty of getting lost in this technology world now and forgetting the actual core values of human beings.

“We had a ban on phones at certain times anyway.” He said: “Players are not allowed to be on their phones as they have to talk to each other.

“We have to go to war with each other every weekend, so the communication needs to be high. The value of understanding personalities needs to be high.

“So instead of it just being certain times now we have put a complete stop on it.”

Stags head for Kenilworth Road five games unbeaten and just one point off the play-offs spots, but knowing another two vital points went begging last weekend.

“It’s good, but a little bit frustrating as we feel we should be in the top five,” said Murray.

“We have only lost three games in 13 League games, but some of the draws we’ve picked up, if we’d turned a couple of those into wins we’d be in the top five.

“It is frustrating, but we are only one point off the play-offs.”

He added: “If we are being brutally honest the plan hasn’t gone to the exact format we’d envisaged.

“We brought in more players than we probably expected to, which has slowed us down a bit. We are little behind schedule, but at the same time, the position we are in, it is incentivised.

“The position we were in the first quarter of last year, it became pressurised.

“So this more incentivised to try to get into those play-offs and I am 100 per cent confident we can do it this season.

“We have a very good group here and we are just trying to find the right, consistent balance.

“If we do lose one player at the minute, we are having to put two in to cover up one job. We need to find a balance to be able to not have to do that.

“When we do that and we are a little bit more ruthless in both boxes, we still have one of the best defensive records in the league which is always something massive to build on.”

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Mansfield Town: Manager Adam Murray bans mobile phones at club
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37691472

Mansfield Town manager Adam Murray has decided it's the latter and banned his players from using phones when they are on duty at the League Two club.

Murray, 35, told BBC Radio Nottingham the issue of constantly using mobile phones was a problem in all walks of life. "It's a society thing," he said.

"I don't like the amount of time people spend on their phones around the football club."

Murray has taken a "marginal gains" approach to his fledgling management career, including ensuring his players learnt how to wash their hands to cut down on illness.

And he is convinced that improving communication off the pitch, will help the players gel on it.

"They don't talk and then they expect to go into an environment where you have to talk and it will just happen," he added.

"I think all of us, we're all guilty. We get lost in this technology world now and we forget the actual core values of human beings.

"We had a ban on phones in certain times anyway - players weren't allowed to be on their phones because they have to talk to each other.

"Instead of it just being in certain times, now we've put a complete stop on it."

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Mansfield Town manager orders total ban on mobile phones
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/oct/18/mansfield-town-manager-adam-murray-bans-mobile-phones

- Players are not allowed phones when at the League Two club
- Adam Murray had already issued edict on compulsory hand washing

Guardian sport
Tuesday 18 October 2016

The Mansfield Town manager, Adam Murray, has banned his players from using phones when they are on duty at the League Two club.

Pep Guardiola has blocked Wi-Fi at Manchester City’s training centre but Murray has gone a step further by confiscating any devices while players are at the club.

Murray told BBC Radio Nottingham mobile phones were a menace in all walks of life. “It’s a society thing,” he said. “I don’t like the amount of time people spend on their phones around the club.”

Murray has already gained media interest after he issued an edict to ensure his players learned how to wash their hands to cut down on illness.

He is convinced improving communication off the pitch will help the players on it. “They don’t talk and then they expect to go into an environment where you have to talk and it will just happen,” he said. “I think all of us, we’re all guilty. We get lost in this technology world now and we forget the actual core values of human beings.

“We had a ban on phones in certain times anyway - players weren’t allowed to be on their phones because they have to talk to each other. Instead of it just being in certain times, now we’ve put a complete stop on it.”

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Latest | October 2016