Archived News from October 2018
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FLITCROFT, BISHOP, FRANKIE BUNN REACTION
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Players gave 'everything' tonight - Stags' boss mansfieldtown.net, 2 October 2018 Stags’ boss David Flitcroft has said that his staff and players produced ‘everything’ they could in this evening’s 0-0 draw with Oldham, but concedes his side lacked the finishing touch in a game they dominated. Mansfield went close on several occasions during the contest, with midfielder Otis Khan hitting the crossbar, and wing-back Will Atkinson heading just wide from close range late on. The manager was full of praise for the way his side performed, adding that he thought tonight’s display was superior to Saturday’s showing, a game in which Mansfield recorded a 4-0 win over Northampton. “I think we were miles better than Saturday [4-0 win against Northampton],” he said. “When I look at the work that the players have done, that epitomises what we are trying to do. “We moved it about [well] and completely dominated. They [Oldham] are very robust and have a real resolve. We moved them around the pitch just as well as we have moved anyone in my 20 odd games. https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2018/october/flitcroft-post-oldham/ “To create the opportunities we have done without scoring a goal, it does defy logic. Everything I ask of my team and my staff, they’ve produced tonight. We just needed that end bit. “I don’t know how we’ve not gone in the first half to go three, four or five up. The football was incredible. We are here to win and we all know that. Their ‘keeper pulled off save after save. “The structure [of Mansfield] was superb, we never looked in danger. We dominated which we have done all season. We just couldn’t finish them off.” The Stags’ boss went on to explain his disappointment for the supporters, who watched their side create chance after chance this evening. “I’m gutted because I wanted back-to-back wins for the supporters who have turned out on Saturday and Tuesday,” he added. “Even though we’ve seen good football, I desperately wanted a win for our supporters. “I like Tuesday nights here under the lights. The pitch is a bit greasy and you can move the ball. We’ve had some of our best performances [in night matches] since I’ve been here.” “CJ [Hamilton]’s pass to Otis [Khan] was brilliant. You’re just waiting for Otis to nestle. With Atkinson in the second half, it’s an open goal. They are phenomenal chances. “We put a lot of work on the training ground and the lads to commit to that. And we’ve seen that tonight. We just needed that end bit. “We’ve played with a purpose and a real verve tonight. We’ve spoken about it and done sessions on it. “Peter Clarke, who is an outstanding professional who I’ve worked with, coming off the pitch then he’s just said ‘wow, what a team.’ When he talks, you do listen. We’ve got to take that charge into Saturday’s game and really drive forward. “We’ve got a lot right at home this season. It’s another point to the total and we’ll keep driving forward because the performance was good.” iFollow Stags subscribers can watch David Flitcroft’s interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later today. ------------------- Flitcroft proud of his players, despite frustration for magnificent Mansfield Town chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Tuesday 02 October 2018 Mansfield Town boss David Flitcroft said he was proud of his players after what he felt was one of their best displays of the season tonight. But he was left frustrated how they failed to score in a one-sided 0-0 home draw with resilient Oldham Athletic “Genuinely, how we’ve not gone four or five up I don’t know with the quality of the performance,” he said. “Apart from the finish, that display was better than League Two level in my opinion. Read more at: https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/flitcroft-proud-of-his-players-despite-frustration-for-magnificent-mansfield-town-1-9377722 "We have never looked so comfy as we did in that first half and they never got near our box. “The longer it went, it got more desperate, but we have to score in those early stages. “Their keeper made five or six outstanding saves - the best keeping performance I’ve seen in League Two this season. “I know it will be unpicked and we’ve not scored a goal so it feels like a defeat. But I am proud of my players and gutted for the supporters.” He added: “That performance was miles better than Saturday and we scored four goals then. That ranks alongside the Accrington performance without the goals. “It was a completely one-sided football match and that group of players have done everything except finish them off. “It was probably the most one-sided game I have been involved in for a long time. “They had to make two subs at half-time as we were that dominant. “We were positive. The players are making really good decisions. “We have played with a purpose and real verve to go and win this football match. We have spoken about really going for teams’ throats and we did that tonight.” Flitcroft took further heart from comments made by Oldham skipper Peter Clarke after the game. “Peter Clarke is a phenomenal professional and a fantastic person,” said Flitcroft. “I have worked with him and coming off the pitch he just said to me - what a team, we’ve been dragged everywhere. “He is the kingpin of their team and when he talks you listen. “He said they’ve not been pulled about like that all season. “But they are unbeaten away from him and are very resilient. By hook or by crook tonight they have earned a point.” ------------------ Mansfield Town boss taking care of loanee Elsnik chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS Despite two outstanding performances this week, Mansfield Town boss David Flitcroft is trying to protect Derby County youngster Timi Elsnik from over-exertion. The loanee Slovenian midfielder scored on his League Two debut for the Stags on Saturday and excelled against Oldham Athletic in the first half last night before starting to tire. “Timi Elsnik is just getting better,” said Fltcroft. “But I had to pull him off against Oldham - he’s almost given me a call saying I can’t do any more. Read more at: https://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town-boss-taking-care-of-loanee-elsnik-1-9381602 “You have to listen to that. He’s come from an academy and he’s not had a robust enough pre-season like the rest of our players. “He just tired later on and I was worried, having played two games in a week when he’s just come from the U21s. “The last thing I wanted to do was fatigue Timi and get another potential injury.” -------------------- Hamilton conversion job pleases Mansfield Town manager Flitcroft chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS Mansfield Town boss David Flitcroft is delighted with his conversion job that has seen CJ Hamilton turned from a left winger into a right wing back. Hamilton had adapted well to his new role and Flitcroft said: “He is good down the left hand side, but the problem I’ve had in the system is that Mal Benning is an attacking left back and has real quality. Read more at: https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/hamilton-conversion-job-pleases-mansfield-town-manager-flitcroft-1-9381608 “When you’ve got Danny Rose, who feeds off crosses, Mal Benning in our best crosser and our best passer. “So we’ve had to find a balance and do loads of work. “But credit to CJ - he has taken the information on. That’s all you can ask from players. “His pass to Otis Khan was brilliant. But he stays behind two or three times a week working on that and that’s what, at times, fills me with optimism - that I’ve got players who want to stay out and work at their craft, to work at their trade, and CJ does that. “I thought he was outstanding on Saturday, probably his best game so far.” --------------------- Emotional Bury return looming for Mansfield Town boss Flitcroft chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Tuesday 02 October 2018 David Flitcroft is looking forward to an emotional return to former club Bury on Saturday. Manager Flitcroft helped the Shakers to promotion in 2014/15 and heads back to Gigg Lane on Saturday with his in-form Mansfield Town side. “I am really looking forward to it,” he said. “It’s a place I had massive success and built a legacy with the youth, sold a load of players and had a brilliant time.” Stags head there on the back of a frustrating 0-0 home draw with Oldham, when they did everything but score in a one-sided affair last night. Delve into the past Where will an autumn walk take you?! Discover the five best walks for history lovers in the Scottish Borders. Promoted by VisitScotland “Bury are challenging - they are up there, and we have to go there with that confidence and belief we’ve got,” said Flitcroft. “After the Oldham game I said to the players go back to your house and think about all the positives from this game.” Flitcroft will try to treat Saturday as just another game, but admits there are many good memories still up there for him. He said: “It will be a day of football. Ryan Lowe is the manager. “He played for me there - I brought him in when we got promoted and he has been a phenomenal servant to the football club. “I had a brilliant relationship with the chairman Stewart Day, who supports his managers. He supported me phenomenally. “I got to work with some very good players and they were special times. “We had some good times, though there were five or six weeks when I didn’t get it right. “Over a three year period I made a lot of friends and made the club a lot of money. “I set up a phenomenal youth system and brought Ryan Kidd in as one of my first signings to go and help with the youth. Chad Mansfield Town player ratings in fine display against Oldham “They are in a brilliant position as a football club. I left it in really good shape. “But there has been a lot of change and a lot of different managers since I left - and a relegation.” Flitcroft admitted part of the appeal of taking the Mansfield job was the possibility of recreating that Bury success. “Three years is a long time as a manager at a club,” he said. “When I got the call off the chairman about coming here, the first thing I thought was the Bury situation. “I wanted that longevity and I wanted to build a football product and a football club on really solid foundations. Read more at: https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/emotional-bury-return-looming-for-mansfield-town-boss-flitcroft-1-9379293 ------------------- Plenty of positives to take from stalemate, says midfielder mansfieldtown.net, 2 October 2018 Neal Bishop believes the performance against Oldham Athletic yielded plenty of positive signs despite it ending as a 0-0 draw. Mansfield Town dominated possession at One Call Stadium but frustratingly lacked the final touch that would have easily clinched the victory on the night. The general standard of play was extremely high - to the point where the result never correlated with the performance on the pitch. Bishop, who put in yet another man of the match performance, aired his disbelief that the Stags were unable find the back of the net on Tuesday evening. “I don’t really know what you say in the dressing room after a performance like that,” he began. “I think we’ve probably played better than what we did Saturday and we’ve come away with two less points. https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2018/october/bishop-post-oldham/ “It was massively frustrating - we’ve done everything right apart from the most important bit which is sticking the ball in the back of the net. “We’ve turned them, spun them, played in-behind, created little one-twos and done everything apart from score so it’s hard for me to be too negative.” The midfielder also recognises the positives that should be taken from the match as he believes the standard matched Saturday’s 4-0 romping of Northampton Town. “I think if we’d have scored early you’d have seen a result like Saturday because the game opens up more and they have to come out. “The pitch all of a sudden opens up but I think they’ve come here and showed us massive respect by the way they’ve set up,” he continued. “They’ve come down from League One - sixth in the league - and gave themselves a round of applause in the dressing room, so it just shows you how highly they regard us. “I’m frustrated beyond belief but the chances are there and it’s early on in the season so they are coming. “You’d be more worried if we weren’t creating chances; it’s just a matter of being ruthless and sticking the knife in when we have teams on the ropes” Bishop admitted. The 37-year-old continues to produce top quality displays from central midfield, typified tonight as he collected yet another man of the match award. “It could have gone to any of the lads tonight, so I’m not sure why I got it [man of the match]. “I’m still as driven as ever, enjoying my football as I did when I was a kid and I think that shows. “I love playing football and I love being with the lads. I love trying to win games of football and I really want to be part of something this season - that’s why I joined. “It’s important to get that recovery in now, look after ourselves and get ourselves in for training on Thursday. Home, away, Bury - wherever it may be we’ll be looking for a win so that’ll be no different.” iFollow Stags subscribers can watch Neal Bishop's interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later today. ------------------------ Bishop frustration that near-perfect Mansfield Town display fails to produce win chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Tuesday 02 October 2018 Mansfield Town midfield ace Neal Bishop spoke of the side’s frustration that a near-perfect performance against visiting Oldham Athletic last night failed to yield three points in a thrilling 0-0 draw. Man of the match on the night, Bishop was at least delighted to see Stags chalk up another clean sheet and create so many chances against the resilient Latics. “Frustration is the over-riding emotion - I am almost lost for words,” said Bishop. “The lads have almost put on the perfect performance - it was probably better than Saturday and maybe our best of the season. But we haven’t got the three points. Read more at: https://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/sport/football/bishop-frustration-that-near-perfect-mansfield-town-display-fails-to-produce-win-1-9378005 “We have to go home, get the frustration out of our system, and come back in realising we can take a lot of positives out of that. “That sticking the final knife in - the ruthless part - we’ve go to work on that on the training ground and take it to Bury on Saturday.” However, he admitted there were many positives from last night, not least the second clean sheet in four days. “It’s two clean sheets in two games and the back lads have been fantastic,” he said. “For me it’s brilliant playing in front of them, they are so commanding. “I am glad they are getting the clean sheets as they are certainly putting the work in and deserve it.” He also said putting the ball in the net was not the sole responsibility of the front two. “It’s down to all of us, myself included,” said Bishop. “We don’t just look to the top two. We have all got to take that responsibility. “We will work on it on the training ground. That’s the only way to improve - hard work. “We have created really good chances in just about every game we’ve played. If we weren’t creating chances it would be more worrying.” ------------------- Oldham boss Bunn impressed by rampant Mansfield Town chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Tuesday 02 October 2018 Oldham Athletic manager Frankie Bunn was full of praise for Mansfield Town after his side survived one of their toughest examinations of the season to draw 0-0 at the One Call Stadium tonight. The Latics remain unbeaten away from home this season but had to survive a one-sided barrage from the Stags. Bunn said: “It wasn’t pretty was it? But I commend Mansfield. “They came at us right from the first whistle and we couldn’t contain them. Read more at: https://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/sport/football/oldham-boss-bunn-impressed-by-rampant-mansfield-town-1-9377720 “I think we panicked a bit in the first half and went a bit direct, getting the ball forward too early. Therefore they kept coming back at us. “But, to be fair to us, we’ve gone in 0-0 at half-time which speaks volumes for the players.” He added: “We conceded a bundle of goals last season but you can see so far this season that has been eradicated. “The spirit and determination, when under the cosh, to come through the other side, was terrific. “We are a unit. We are unified - everyone will defend and everyone is together. “When you are put into a bit of adversity you have to deal with it. “Sometimes it’s not your day with the ball. It wasn’t today, but we kept a clean sheet. “We had to change things at half-time or we’d have conceded. Rumour Mill: Guardiola rules out Manchester City move for Mbappe “This will be a difficult place to come to and our last two games have been the best teams we’ve played so far and look to be the better teams in the league.” ------------------ Bunn Commends Defensive Improvement oldhamathletic.co.uk, Tuesday 02 October 2018 Manager Frankie Bunn believes last night's gritty performance will stand the team in good stead after they managed to come away with a point again a solid Mansfield Town outfit. Latics had Daniel Iverson to thank in the first half for a number of brilliant saves, as well as the defensive unit who put their bodies on the line. Bunn accepted that his side wasn’t good enough on the ball, but he was pleased with the togetherness the team showed once again to grind out a result. “It wasn't pretty, I commend Mansfield, they came at us right from the first whistle, we couldn't contain them, and we panicked a little bit first half on the ball.” He said. https://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/news/2018/october/03102018-bunn-post-mansfield/ “But we're a unit, everyone will defend, everyone’s together and that’s where the spirit we’ve been speaking about from pre-season comes into fruition. “When you’re put into a bit of adversity you have to deal with it and sometimes it’s not your day with the ball which it wasn’t today, but we've come through the other side again kept a clean sheet.” Conceding goals was a huge problem for Latics last season, with 75 goals in their against column. But Bunn and his management staff identified this in pre-season as a problem they had to solve. So far Latics have kept five clean sheets away from home and have only conceded eight goals in 11 league games this campaign which shows the progress the side has made. “To be fair to us we go in at half time 0-0 which speaks volumes for the players because it’s something we've seen from last year we've conceded an abundance of goals.” He commented. “You can see from performances this season that has been eradicated which I hope continues, but the spirit and determination after being under the cosh and to come through the other side was terrific.” With Mansfield having the better of the first half, Bunn switched things up to a 3-5-2 formation to try and get a foothold in the game at half time. The change seemed to work as Latics offered more of a threat going forward and managed to contain the flow of attacks that Mansfield had in the second period. “We had to change things, or we would have conceded because they were on top, we just tried to match them up and that stemmed it for a large part of the second half. “I thought the switch was ok, it is perhaps something we can look to in the future, we’ve changed things around and ultimately got a point from the game.” Bunn also had praise for the mental toughness of his side which will come in good use once the business end of the season comes into play. “I think we're mentally tough, we've had to withstand a barrage of crosses and long balls, ok we weren't great with the ball, but even the best teams aren’t always great. “If you can’t win, don’t lose and that’s what we’ve done tonight.” --------------------- Bunn Looking To Improve On Tuesday’s Performance Thursday 04 October 2018 https://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/news/2018/october/04102018-bunn-pre-carlisle/ Manager Frankie Bunn believes his side need to perform better than they did at Mansfield Town on Tuesday night when Carlisle United visit Boundary Park this Saturday. Although it was a solid defensive display from his team, along with another good goalkeeping performance, Bunn knows his side must do better when in possession as an attacking threat. “We’re disappointed with the performance on Tuesday because it wasn’t great, especially with the ball, it's probably the worst performance I’ve seen since I’ve been here.” He said. “Defensively we were good with a bit of a luck and a good goalkeeping display, so we’ve come away with a point in the end which we were grateful for, but it needs to be better.” ---------------- @Timi_Elsnik Disappointed that we didn’t win today. Thought we absolutely deserved it. 2 clean sheets in a row as well. Build on for Saturday -------------------- TWO DAYS LATER 4 October 2018 Oldham Athletic players threaten to strike over unpaid wages https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45752949 Oldham are eighth in League Two after 11 games Oldham Athletic's players have threatened to go on strike over unpaid wages, BBC Radio Manchester reports. The League Two club have said they will not be commenting on the matter at this stage. The Latics were relegated from League One last season and have made a solid start to the campaign with four wins and five draws from their opening 11 league matches. They host Carlisle on Saturday, looking to stretch their unbeaten run to five. Oldham were taken over by Moroccan businessman Abdallah Lemsagam in January. In November 2017 they were visited by HM Revenue and Customs and have faced a winding-up petition in each of the past three years. -------------------- |
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