Stags just happy to be at home in Checkatrade

Mansfield Town assistant boss Paul Raynor said the club were just delighted to have been drawn at home this morning for the Checkatrade Trophy third round.
Bolton Wanderers v Leeds United.
United's Paul Raynor.
24th October 2015.
Picture : Jonathan GawthorpeBolton Wanderers v Leeds United.
United's Paul Raynor.
24th October 2015.
Picture : Jonathan Gawthorpe
Bolton Wanderers v Leeds United. United's Paul Raynor. 24th October 2015. Picture : Jonathan Gawthorpe

The Stags have been pitted against the winners of next week’s all-League One second round clash between Walsall and Oldham Athletic and Raynor said: “The first thing you always ask for is a home draw and, obviously, it’s in the lap of the gods who you get. So we are just pleased to be at home.

“It will be a tough game whether it’s Oldham or Walsall, but we’ll take it.

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“We will get someone across to watch their game on Tuesday. We have just added someone to the scouting network we’ve got, which is good.

“It means we are moving forward in that direction as well. We are covering all the games and getting all the info.

“We are trying to change the infrastructure and make things better and more professional. That’s just a part of what we’ve been used to at other clubs.

“We were doing it pretty much off the video before, now we have someone out there actively looking who has a lot of contacts around the country and that can only help us.”

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The Stags made it through round two in midweek with a late 3-2 win at Carlisle United when a spectacular late Danny Rose strike won the match after United had fought level from a 2-0 interval deficit.

“It was certainly entertaining in the first half, not quite as much in the second half,” said Raynor

“But we took our foot off the pedal, which can sometimes happen when you are cruising at 2-0, especially away from home.

“We let them into the game and defensively we were not happy with the manner of the two goals. They gave Carlisle a lifeline.

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“But what a goal to win a cup tie – it was absolutely magnificent.”

Danny Rose will now be hoping his recent run of goals off the bench and efforts to improve his fitness will be enough to win him a place for Saturday’s League Two visit on Saturday.

Raynor said: “We are absolutely delighted with Danny with the amount of effort he is putting in.

“He is certainly knocking on the door, and what better way to knock on the door and tell the manager he is ready than to pop up with a goal like that?

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“To be honest he is not the type of guy who is going to bash the gaffer’s door down and tell him he should be playing. He’s done it well.

“He’s come off the bench and scored three in three now. Danny is working incredibly hard in training as well and he is getting his rewards.

“He had a little bit of cramp towards the end of a behind-closed-doors game against Sheffield United last week which tells you he probably needs to work a little more on his fitness.

“But that goes for everybody in the squad.”

He added: “We want to play with a tempo. We want to play a high-pressure pressing game.

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“To do that you need to be incredibly fit. We’ve been working on that over the last couple of weeks and people are seeing the benefits of that now.

“Hopefully the fans will see that on Saturday with the fitness levels even higher.”