Is squad depth holding Mansfield Town back from making a Play-Off push?

The same starting 11 week in and week out and it is clear to see that in the final stages of the last three matches, Mansfield Town have shown signs of tiredness and lose all sense of rhythm.

With injuries to key players like George Lapslie and Kellan Gordon, the number of healthy and fit players for the Stags is looking quite thin.

Nigel Clough remained with the same line-up against Bolton Wanderers that faced Colchester United last weekend and in most parts, the squad looked comfortable.

Running and gaining yards was not an issue in the first-half as the Nottinghamshire club looked to dominate the first 20 minutes of the encounter.

Bolton were able to creep slowly into the match at the end of the first 45 minutes as Oladapo Afolayan’s shot hit the post which clearly sent warning signs to a temporarily switched off defence.

Going level into the half-time interval was probably a fair reflection of the opening exchanges in the match with both sides setting their early pace and looking to get a foothold of the match.

After the half-time interval, Clough’s men would continue their pressure and look to find a way of scoring a goal in the early stages of the second period.

20 minutes into the second-half, Ollie Clarke was able to get the lead for the Stags after they worked tirelessly for the goal.

The midfielder hit the ball with power and venom from outside the box with Bolton goalkeeper Matt Gilks only able to parry the ball into the back of his own goal.

Seven minutes later, Mansfield Town were 2-0 up after a well-worked goal. Stephen Quinn played the ball to Jamie Reid with the striker slotting the ball into the back of the net.

What followed was ten minutes from absolute hell for the amber and blues as they capitulated and fell to a 3-2 defeat with the Wanderers capitalising on the substitutes they made.

Nathan Delfouneso, Shaun Potter, Arthur Gnahoua and George Thomason all were bought on by Ian Evatt in the second-half to flip the game on its head and gave the visitors the much-needed energy to get something out of the match.

Those four changes proved pivotal as Clough only made one substitution with Mal Benning replacing Stephen Quinn with the defender scoring the only goal which levelled the match at 2-2 in the 85th minute.

The subs bench looks pretty thin for the Stags with it mostly made up of youth players in Jason Law, Tyrese Sinclair and James Clarke alongside three defenders and a goalkeeper.

Injuries to Kellan Gordon, Ollie Sarkic, George Lapslie and Joe Riley has seen the squad left very thin and down to its bare bones.

Clough brought in Jamie Pardington as extra competition in the goalkeeping department which is a fair remark and the young 20-year-old can be on hand if Aidan Stone or Marek Stech get injured.

The defence has rarely changed with the duo of Ryan Sweeney and Ferrand Rawson a main-stay in the side and it may not have been silly to get a central-defender to challenge for a spot in the side with Rollin Menayese loaned out of the club.

Gordon has had some issues with injuries in the last season with James Perch replacing the ex-Derby County player whenever he is out injured.

Youngster James Clarke is also there as right-back cover if needed with Joe Riley the fourth right-sided full-back in the Stags setup.

In the left-back department, Mal Benning and Stephen McLaughlin are fighting for that spot with McLaughlin currently edging out Mansfield’s number three in the pecking order.

It wouldn’t have gone a miss if Clough got extra cover at left-back with an imbalance between the two full-back positions with more cover in one than the other.

The centre of midfield never changes with Clarke, George Maris and Stephen Quinn the only fit central midfielders at this stage of the season.

With Lapslie’s creativity hugely missed due to his hamstring injury that will see him sidelined for at least another three weeks, the Stags boss could have afforded to add an extra midfielder into his ranks to stay on the cautious side of things.

Going forward the Stags have very little with now only Jamie Reid and Jordan Bowery the only two fit senior striker in the ranks.

Nicky Maynard and Andy Cook both left the club on loan and signing only one replacement for the duo that left has given Clough a huge hole to fill if one of those two got injured.

The bench should have been looked at in the transfer window and it needed to be addressed that a signing of a few players that could turn the game around when they come off the bench was a must in the January transfer window.

Mansfield have played three times in the last week and they face league leaders Cambridge United on Saturday at the One Call Stadium.

Tiredness will play a factor with all the players needing to recover properly from this encounter and be able to pick themselves up from a defeat which taste so bitter after they lead 2-0 going into the final 15 minutes of the match.

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