Pressure mounts on Dempster as Mansfield search for a vital win

The Stags face a tough trip to Crewe Alexandra, with the amber and blues needing a huge three points to ease the pressure on manager John Dempster.

Last time out, the Stags suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat at home to Cheltenham.

Crewe recorded a 3-1 win over Eastleigh in their last match, an Emirates FA Cup Second Round replay. Their last game in Sky Bet League Two ended in a 0-0 draw with Forest Green Rovers.

Team news

Midfielder Neal Bishop could be in contention for the fixture after returning to training late this week following a concussion he picked up in the defeat to Cheltenham

The Stags, who lost out in the play-off semi-final last season are currently 18^th in the table but Artell is wary of their threat going forward, especially with our former forward Nicky Maynard at the club.

The game will likely come too soon for wing-back Hayden White, who is expected to make a return to training next week.

Fellow defender Kellan Gordon will miss the game with a back issue.

For Crewe, Ollie Lancashire will miss out.

The Stags, who lost out in the play-off semi-final last season are currently 18^th in the table but Crewe boss David Artell is wary of their threat going forward, especially with former forward Nicky Maynard at the club.

David Artell has described Mansfield Town as a dangerous opponent this weekend:

“Mansfield are a dangerous opponent. They finished fourth last season and lost in the play-off semi-final. They haven’t changed their squad all that much except bringing in one of the leading scorers in the league last year in Nicky (Maynard). They have good players and they would be the first to admit that they should be doing better.

“They can be a real dangerous team with the players they have but they are not doing as well as expected.

“The board made a change right after the play-offs and John (Dempster) is still finding his feet. They do not become a good team over night and on the flipside they do not become a bad team overnight either.

“We have to be wary of them and we cannot show any sentiment. We have to go out there and do the business.”

Manager John Dempster has revealed details of a meeting held with his players on Sunday, in which his charges spoke ‘very well’ and ‘honestly’ – something he expects the Stags to show a ‘reaction’ from:

“Watching the [Cheltenham] game back, there should have been a sending off in the game early on,” he told iFollow Stags.

“It frustrated me at the time and I’m still feeling annoyed with it, but that’s not why we lost the game 3-0.

“I was really disappointed with the goals we conceded. We spoke about that at length on Sunday morning – I had the players in on Sunday.”

Head-to-head

Mansfield don’t have the best of records against Crewe Alexandra with the Railwaymen winning two games out of five games. Mansfield were victorious on one occasion with the game ending in a draw twice.