Stags hoping management duo are not both banned for Saturday

Mansfield Town will be hoping the FA do not ban both manager Steve Evans and assistant Paul Raynor from the bench for Saturday's visit of Newport County.
Mansfield Town Manager Steve Evans with assistant Paul Raynor behind.
Picture by Dan Westwell.Mansfield Town Manager Steve Evans with assistant Paul Raynor behind.
Picture by Dan Westwell.
Mansfield Town Manager Steve Evans with assistant Paul Raynor behind. Picture by Dan Westwell.

Raynor was already in hot water after being sent to the stand during the crazy midweek 4-4 home draw with Accrington.

Then Evans was also sent to the stand in Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Grimsby Town where he was forced to sit in the middle of a hostile home crowd and eventually missed the end of the game.

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Raynor has already had a letter which he needs to answer and Evans is keeping an eye on the letterbox after a spat with the fourth official at Grimsby saw him dismissed by referee Sebastian Stockbridge – an official he has fallen foul of before.

As far as whether one or both of them would be missing from the dug-out on Saturday, Evans said: “I don’t know.

“I am not aware of what Paul has decided to do and, as of now, I’ve heard nothing myself.

“I would expect it to come. We’ll look at the content of that. If it’s different to what I’ve said I will go and speak to the Football Association.

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“What I do know if I speak to the FA under the head of discipline there, Mark Ives, I’d expect a full and fair hearing. That’s what I’ve tended to get when Mark Ives has been involved in that process.

“I will see what the paperwork says, discuss it with John Radford and Carolyn Radford as you should do, and take their advice on board and ultimately make a decision as to whether I accept what they’ve said or disagree.

“Until I see the paperwork I don’t know what the referee is going to say.”

He added: “Paul has had a letter asking him to explain his position. I think he has a couple of days to decide on that. He will make his decision what he wants to say.

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“Paul can speak for himself – he’s a big boy. But I think he is a little disappointed by some of the content in it.”

A fiery game saw Stags finish with 10 men after two yellow cards for defender Hayden White and Evans was quick to meet referee Stockbridge after the game.

“I spoke to the referee on a number of fronts as you’d expect,” he said.

“I spoke to him about my own situation and I think he had a lot of empathy for what I went through afterwards.

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“That happened. It’s gone now. No doubt the FA will be in touch and I will answer properly.

“It was only the fourth official that heard it, despite the assistant referee being half a yard away. He didn’t hear what I was meant to have said and I didn’t say it.

“The assistant referee says he will confirm that to anyone who asks.

“I have questioned the fourth official. Why would I do that? I was trying to get him to ask the referee a question which he clearly refused.

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“I have never hidden what I said. I told him I’d speak to his boss and I think maybe he’s reacted to that and taken action. I will deal with that.

“My thoughts on that particular referee I’ve never hidden either. I can’t say it’s anything personal other than I just think he’s a poor official.”

Evans wants to put his nightmare in the stand with the home supporters quickly behind him, though knows it could have turned very ugly.

“There is a mandate from the Football League which every club, including our club, respects that you have to be allocated a place in the directors’ box,” he said.

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“Of course the difference at Grimsby Town, and you have to respect it, is that the directors’ box is at the opposite end of the pitch. I don’t know if that’s feasible given the circumstances.

“You should still be given a vantage point where you are not going to be in amongst home supporters. That would always create difficulty.

“I was smiling and listening to Neil Warnock yesterday about getting booed by both the Bury and the Bradford fans. I can understand when Neil’s gone off in the past and he’s been amongst supporters, it causes that type of reaction.

“In terms of the Grimsby supporters getting behind their team, that’s what you want to see – passion and pride. They were so pleased to win and it showed what beating us meant to them.”