Murray pleased but not surprised as Stags end winless run

Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray was delighted but not surprised to see his side pick up their first win in eight games with tonight's 1-0 Checkatrade EFL Trophy group match victory at Port Vale.
Mansfield Town Manager Adam Murray
Picture by Dan WestwellMansfield Town Manager Adam Murray
Picture by Dan Westwell
Mansfield Town Manager Adam Murray Picture by Dan Westwell

He admitted it was a great boost towards this weekend’s big local derby with Notts County and several players had given him selection headaches.

But he said the victory away at a League One side was no great surprise as his side had been playing well but tonight added the quality finish they were missing as sub Matt Green came on to net within three minutes in the second half.

Click HERE to read the match report

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“I was pleased with the result,” said Murray. “The performance was what it has been for the last five or six weeks now but with that bit of luck and bit of quality we needed.

“I don’t think tonight tells our fans anything they don’t know. I don’t think the team or myself have anything to justify.

“So I am not going to stand here and say this makes us the champions of the world or we’re going to win the Checkatrade.

People who know the game know the performance levels have been really high. We haven’t taken our chances in games and we’ve been sucker-punched.

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“But we’ve kept our heads down and kept working hard. We’ve had a good two weeks now where we feel like we’ve brushed some things out the door and got some things back on track.

“The boys are confident, so it’s nothing we didn’t see coming or expect. That’s what we expect from our group – we showed it last season and I am confident we’ll show it this season.”

With five changes from the side that picked up a fine 1-1 draw at Crewe last weekend, Murray now has the problem of picking an XI to take on the Magpies.

“It gives me a fantastic headache, but that’s the quality of player we’ve got in the group,” he smiled.

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“All that’s been missing over this past month is belief and confidence from all of us.

“This time last month I was nominated for manager of the month. I think this month some of our own fans will probably chuck me out of a window.

“But that’s the game. We are confident in what we do. We know this game can be swings and roundabouts.”

Murray admits he and the players can’t wait for the local derby.

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“We’ve been planning for Saturday since quarter to five Saturday just past,” he said.

“This game we had to take care of, but our focus is on a massive game on Saturday and the boys are preparing.

“We are ready for action and we want to put a right good home performance on on Saturday.”