Ollie Clarke leading by example as the Stags beat Salford City to move up to 15th

The pure leadership qualities that Mansfield skipper Ollie Clarke possesses are amazing.

Always giving 100%, never giving up and always working for the team sees the captain as one of the Stags’ most prized possessions.

After the departure of Krystian Pearce in the summer, Mansfield Town needed a real leader that can take the team forward and one that has enough experience as a captain to do so.

The 28-year-old midfielder spent his whole career with Bristol Rovers, bar a few loan spells that saw him get the game time he needed to get into the first-team squad.

When he was signed on the 1st July, the Stags faithful were relieved that someone has come through the door that has leadership as one of his main characteristics, has played under ex-Stags manager Graham Coughlan and was the captain under the Irishman at the Gas.

Mansfield’s new summer signing only played four league matches before an injury saw him sidelined through the whole month of October as he finally returned in November.

The midfielder has slowly been getting back to his best and has been looking to get the best out of himself and the team in every game.

He constantly looks to win the ball back in all areas of the pitch and even makes darting runs forward when the attacking line need support when on the front foot.

Last weekend, he opened his Stags account as his goal in the first minute of the game saw the Stags take off and beat their opponents, Port Vale, by a comfortable 4-0 scoreline at the One Call Stadium.

Nigel Clough has also played with the formation in recent weeks, going from the 4-4-2 to the 4-1-3-2 that sees George Maris play as the more defensive midfielder and Ollie Clarke playing in a midfield three alongside George Lapslie and Harry Charsley.

This sometimes can vary as Lapslie also starts a little deeper so that the opponent are not expecting his runs and he can get on the ball far more.

Clarke usually starts in the middle of the midfield but we have seen him drift out wide to the left and to the right at times which means that either Charsley or Lapslie fill in for the Mansfield captain in the middle of the park.

The power, strength and vision that the skipper possesses is certainly what Mansfield need and having him further up the field is something the Stags have needed in recent times when performances have not gone their way.

Clarke is very good at reading the game and looks to win back possession before it is too late which was clearly on display against Salford yesterday as he looked to win and recycle the ball.

He has the second most amount of possession wins in midfield for Mansfield (61) with only Maris winning the ball on more occasions as his more defensive role shines prominently on that stat.

Out of the midfield trio that he forms with Charsley and Lapslie, he averages 0.1 more key passes as a game than his two teammates with 1.2.

Lapslie has the highest pass success rate out of the trio but it is Clarke who comes out on top with the most number of accurate passes per match with 27.7, 0.9 better than the on-loan midfielder and 11.2 more than the ex-Everton midfielder.

With a dribble success rate of 65%, Clarke shows a high interest in starting attacks and the ability to create something out of nothing as he drives forward with the ball with power and determination.

A tactical tweak which has coincided with the Stags’ recent upturn in form is midfielder George Maris being deployed in a slightly deeper role, allowing skipper Ollie Clarke to get further up the pitch.

Nigel Clough spoke on the change in formation and the tweak in roles.

“I think [George] Maris, [Ollie] Clarke and Laps [George Lapslie] have been brilliant. They controlled the game from their positions.

“George Maris is maybe not as defensively solid as Ollie at times, but he handles the ball a bit better.

“Ollie’s strength in his running and his power comes into play when he can make those forward runs.”

Clarke spoke about him wanting to add more goals and assists to his game and that is certainly what Clough will want out of him as he is deployed a bit further forward than he has in recent weeks.

The Stags now face a tie against Cheltenham Town in the FA Cup Third Round before they return to League Two action against Oldham Athletic.

It will be interesting to see how the formation continues to evolve but currently Mansfield are on form and climbing the League Two table.

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