Assistant Raynor excited by Stags project

New Mansfield Town manager, Steve Evans at a press conference at the One Call Stadium on Wednesday with his assistant manager, Paul Raynor.

Raynor, 50, is a Nottingham-born ex-Forest striker who has been Evans’ right hand man at every club he has been at and the pair have enjoyed immense success.

“It’s a return home for me,” he said. “I’ve been away since I was 19 when I left Forest for the first time and it’s nice to come back to the county.

“I am very excited. It’s a great project, a big project, but one we are really looking forward to.”

On manager Evans, he said: “We keep winning lots of football matches.

“There is never a dull moment. We have our battles but we seem to bounce off each other and work well together.

“He lets me have pretty much a free rein on the training field. I am able to get hands on with the coaching and it’s a good partnership.

“It’s not all sweetness and light, we do have our battles, but for the main aim of being successful and it seems to work.”

Evans paid tribute to his No.2, saying: “He is a major part of why we have been successful over the years.

“Paul describes his role as filling in the gaps but that undermines what he really does.”