From rock bottom to League One, Nigel Clough's Stags are a beacon of hope for the Football League's beleaguered clubs
From rock bottom to League One, Nigel Clough's Stags are a beacon of hope for the Football League's beleaguered clubsMansfield Town players were training in a local park, trying to keep the ball away from dog walkers. There was so little order off the pitch that money was being kept in bin bags., escaping from 11 years in the fourth tier – but that was the reality when the club hit rock bottom at the end of the 2000s.
In a town that has often felt overlooked, the employment rate is noticeably lower than across the rest of the East Midlands region. When they finally fell into the Conference League in 2008, one fan located Haslam in his own boardroom and punched him.All that is a distant memory now. Mansfield are anticipating a busy summer in order to smoothen the leap to League One. Work will gather pace on the new stand and the gym will be expanded. Radford promises to be “measured” in the transfer market but plans to “add a few players to the mix”.
“It took 11 years to get to League One from League Two and before then we had to make sure we got up from the Conference. But in the meantime in those 11 years, we’ve made sure we’ve got a state-of-the-art training ground. Every time I go there I’m blown away, it’s immaculate – it’sGiven how close Mansfield have come in recent seasons, it is surprising that promotion is such an unfamiliar feeling at Field Mill – they have only gone up eight times since becoming Football League members in 1931.
“I can see the big picture of things – I’m putting washing out, I’ve got children. I see in terms of the football club, why would a footballer want to play for us, is he local, I like to make relationships with the families. If they’re not performing on the pitch usually it’s related to personal matters like everybody else. And I’m not afraid to say things, I’m quite outspoken. I’ll just say it as it is.
The good times are back at the One Call Stadium – Mansfield smashed nine past Harrogate Town in a joint club record 9-2 win – and their form on the road has been just as important. No other side in League Two has conceded so few goals on the road, where the Stags have picked up 40 points – including three in a famous 4-1 win over local rivals Notts County last October.“Mansfield needed this as a town itself,” Radford adds. “We really epitomise the fact it can lift a whole town.
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