No new faces in Stags squad for Accrington test

Evans continues to look for a striker and a central midfielder before the transfer window closes in two weeks and has twice been snubbed by strikers not wanting to drop to League Two level in as many weeks.

However, he remains confident he will be successful and said: “We have good players so the pressure is a little less.

“We’ve done a lot of good work in the summer. We are just trying to help the group with more good players.

“I’d like to sign one or two lads who have something we’ve not got. If we can do that we’ll be in fantastic shape. We will do some business before the window slams shut I’m sure.

“We are working hard – we know who want and we are working hard to do it.

“We are hopeful of getting one in each position in. There is nothing imminent and nothing will happen today, but we are speaking to people and it’s positive.

“Not everyone wants to play at the level. Some can’t play at the level. The players we’ve targeted would come here and do very well.”

Evans said the ongoing stories about the club’s attempts to bring players in were seeing plenty of names offered to Mansfield, though generally not ones he is interested in.

“We are not going to sign players for the sake of it,” he said.

“I think because of our public statements that we are trying to sign this player or that player, you can imagine every agent has been on the phone to me with lots of good players put to me - though never the ones we have said let’s try to do something about.

“All I will say to our supporters is don’t believe everything you read or hear as 95 per cent of the names you hear we wouldn’t bring here.”

As we reached the end of Thursday afternoon, Evans said it would now be too late for the weekend, even if a signing did materialise later.

“Even if it did happen today, they wouldn’t be included on Saturday,” he said.

“We always say that, unless it’s someone way above any level you’ve got, you have to be fair to the guys already in your camp and we like to get our players settled into the club as has been proven with other guys who’ve joined us.”

Chasing signings is certainly taking up a lot of Evans and assistant boss Paul Raynor’s time.

Evans said: “I am out every day with the team. It takes a lot of late afternoons and evenings up when I am catching up with agents or managers and our chairman and chief executive. “That’s what takes your personal time up, but I have never been one to worry about personal time as I watch three or four games a week anyway.

“You have to be out looking. The minute you’re not looking you’re not doing your job.”