Mansfield Town will be looking to bounce back from an utterly dreadful 2019/20 season and with Graham Coughlan’s first full season in charge could see Mansfield surge up the table.
Mansfield Town had a really bad season last time out finishing 21st in League Two, something not many fans expecting after finishing in the playoffs the season before last. Nicky Maynard finished top scorer for the Stags netting 14 goals in the league followed closely behind by Danny Rose with 11.
Transfers
Mansfield Town have offloaded many players from the 2019/20 squad and bought many worthy replacements that will see the Stags have a very strong squad going into this new campaign.
Jordan Bowery and Jamie Reid were the first two signings. Bowery coming from MK Dons and Reid coming from Torquay United. Both play in the striker position with Reid being the more goal-hungry of the pair.
Marek Stech joined the Stags next coming from Luton Town. The experienced goalkeeper looks set to be Mansfield Town’s number one goalkeeper after the departures of Conrad Logan and Bobby Olejnik.
Ollie Clarke signed for the Stags from Bristol Rovers reuniting with Mansfield Town manager and ex-Bristol Rovers manager Graham Coughlan. He will slot perfectly into the Stags new and re-built midfield.
Ferrend Rawson was the next player through the door. The centre-back signed for the Stags after leaving Forest Green Rovers and slotting into Mansfield Town’s defence.
George Maris and Rollin Menayese signed on the same day. The Cambridge United midfielder joined Mansfield for an undisclosed fee the same as the Bristol Rovers defender.
Mansfield Town have landed another two recent signings in the name of Corey O’Keefe on a free transfer after he was released by Birmingham City and ex-Premier League player James Perch also on a free transfer after his departure from Scunthorpe United.
The Stags have also landed Aaron O’Driscoll. The defender had a successful trial period at the club in which Graham Coughlan decided to sign the defender up.
After a 2-0 pre-season friendly defeat against Peterborough United, Mansfield Town manager Graham Coughlan spoke about what this exercise was about and what caught his attention.
“We wanted to learn, look at them and see why they’re in League One. I think it was a really good learning exercise and a really good workout.
“We had spells with the ball, but should have kept the ball a lot better. When you turn the ball over to good teams like Peterborough, they hurt you.
“We got a lot of leg work into us, so it was a great exercise defensively. We need to keep the ball better and the service into the frontmen needs to be better.
“We wanted to learn, look at them and see why they’re in League One. I think it was a really good learning exercise and a really good workout.
“We had spells with the ball, but should have kept the ball a lot better. When you turn the ball over to good teams like Peterborough, they hurt you.
“We got a lot of leg work into us, so it was a great exercise defensively. We need to keep the ball better and the service into the frontmen needs to be better.”
Targets
A realistic target for the Stags would be to improve on the 21st position that saw many heads drop during the season with a poor performance followed by a poor performance.
With the signings that have been made during the summer transfer window, the squad will be more than capable of reaching mid-table and even pushing for the play-offs if a few more cover players are added into the Mansfield squad.
Key Player
Mansfield Town have two real key players, Ryan Sweeney and Ollie Clarke. Both are very capable of saving their side at either end. Sweeney looks like he will be either the captain or vice-captain with Clarke in the same position as he was captain whilst at Bristol Rovers under Coughlan.
Sweeney brings stability and still a relatively young defender that’s hungry to strive for success and clean sheets under his belt. Clarke will provide the killer passes and midfield prowess at the Stags. Hopefully, that vision and instinct can get him assists on the board for the strikers to feed on and score.
Youth Prospect
The squad will have a lot of relatively experienced professionals. Jimmy Knowles, Alistair Smith, Tyrese Sinclair and James Clarke will be the ones to look out for trying to break into the starting 11.
Knowles, Smith and Clarke have been in and around the first team for a season or two now with Sinclair being sent out on loan on a couple of occasions. Hopefully, these youngsters get the chance to play for the first team as they are talented individuals that have a lot of potential and the ability to play well at League Two level.
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