Stags tough to beat, but Murray admits he needs to take more risks at home

Mansfield Town will try to extend their unbeaten run to seven games at home to Stevenage on Saturday with boss Adam Murray admitting he needs to learn to take a few more risks.
Adam Murray.Adam Murray.
Adam Murray.

After failing to win a game in September, Murray tightened his ship and, although they have not lost in six, they have drawn four of them.

He said: “I think it has been down to discipline, organisation, and a fantastic focus from the players.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We obviously do a lot of work on the training ground on our structure.

“Over the last two years I’ve come to learn that my strength is probably organisationally and structurally putting a team together and making it hard to beat. The players have bought into that.

Click HERE to read our Big Match Preview

Click HERE to read Murray’s views on the problems of winning at home

“We would have liked to have turned a couple of those draws into wins. I think that would have seen us comfortably in the play-offs.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“But I think before and after the Accrington game I noted in press that I’d changed things and gone back to certain values I believed in.

“We’ve done that and, since then, we’ve been unbeaten.”

He added: “I like being organised. I like not conceding goals. I like being solid and hard to beat.

“But I am not stupid. I know that at times I do need to take more risks. That’s something as an individual I am working on.”

Stags will take on Stevenage with confidence after holding high-flying Luton 1-1 away from home last Saturday.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I want my team to epitomise me in terms of its attitude,” said Murray.

“You look at our attitude at Luton on Saturday.

“We went there confident, not arrogant, but we walked in with our chests out as we were five unbeaten and we’d been to some tough places. We felt we could go there and beat Luton.

“I think for the first 55-60 minutes the lads put an incredible shift it. It isn’t just physical, it was mental as well as we were that organised in our shape.”

Murray added: “I think their manager came out and said for the first three or four minutes we didn’t touch the ball - we were over the moon with that as that was the plan.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We knew they have some very good players and tremendous resources and there are some games when you have to control the game without the ball and dictate it without the ball. I felt we did that.

“We made our changes for a reason as they were piling a bit more pressure on us and throwing a few more bodies forward. But that ultimately was going to lead to their weakness.

“We put a bit more pace into the team to try to catch them on the counter-attack and get that second goal.

“I think we had four opportunities when if that final pass is right, we are in one-on-one with the keeper.”