Swan so happy to be back among the goals for Mansfield Town

Swan has had an up and down season but looks to be back in the first team start reckoning and netted his second goal in three games at the bottom club.

“Lucas (Akins) got down the right, there was a bit of eye contact between us so he knew to cut it back to me, and I just managed to slide it in at the near post,” he said.

“I am really enjoying it. It is always frustrating being on the bench for a while. But you always have to be ready to put on good performances when called upon.

“It can be hard when you're only getting five or 10 minutes to really make an impact in some games. But when you do get a bit longer on the pitch it is important you capitalise and make an impact on the game.”

He added: “It was a really good team performance today.

“These are the games you can come to and slip up sometimes.

“So to come here and get three points against a good side is really big for us in keeping pressure on Stockport at the top.

“When teams get a new manager and new players they can surprise you.

“But we came here and tried to play like we always do, and we could have played better and scored a few more goals to be fair. But we're just happy to get the three points.”

It was a second win and clean sheet in as many games for a Stags side that went four without a win in January.

“It never felt like we were off track though,” said Swan.

“It was just that we were a bit unlucky in how results were going. We have been playing well since the New Year and it's really good we are starting to turn those performances into wins now.

“Sometimes things are going for you during a season and sometimes not, but you have to keep morale high through those frustrating losses. I think we have done a good job of that.”