Rumours have surfaced in recent days that Holdsworth is poised to add the Rushden player, who he played with at Sheffield United and Birmingham, to the Field Mill squad.

• Will Woodhouse be new manager's first signing?

But Holdsworth, who is currently looking at a number of players to add to his team, said that although he admired Woodhouse as a player it did not mean he was on the way to Mansfield Town.

"There are many players that I am currently looking at," he said. "My phone has not stopped ringing. Curtis Woodhouse is the type of player that I am in interested in, but people are putting two and two together because we have played together before.

"He is one of many players I am looking at, he is a good player but it will all come down to finances. We cannot paper over cracks and need to improve the squad."

• Click here to watch a video of Friday's press conference at the club's official website mansfieldtown.net

Woodhouse - serving a one-match suspension this weekend - has been told he can leave the Diamonds ahead of the expected end of his two-year contract this summer.

Discussions are ongoing about the future of Nottingham Forest keeper Paddy Gamble, Holdsworth also revealed at a press conference on Friday afternoon.

The manager said it is still not clear whether the Stags will extend the 20-year-old's loan until the end of the season.

Gamble has made 28 first team appearances for Mansfield this season and the club's other first-team keeper, Jason White, has just returned from injury into training.

Holdsworth also spoke about the decision not to extend Adnan Ahmed's loan from Tranmere, which saw the Pakistani international return to Prenton Park on New Year's Eve.

• Ahmed's loan spell at Stags is over

He said: "We would like to thank him for his time here. It is very difficult when you come into a new operation, but I have had a look at the finances and the players I am trying to bring in.

"It was a decision I had to make very quickly.

"If ever a situation crops up, we know there is a tidy player there. But I will be bringing in the more dogged approach, we have to grind out the results and that will be encouraged by the personnel I will be looking at because we have been easy to beat."

Tough-talking Holdsworth, who was given a rapturous reception by Stags' fans when he was unveiled before Monday's Burton Albion defeat, has also vowed to give youth a chance to shine.

He added: "The players that can embrace my methods and work hard will be staying, but those who do not will be given the chance to join other clubs.

• Click here to read sports editor John Lomas' review of 2008 at Field Mill

"Every player will be given a chance and I have no favourites; whether they are 16 or 36 years old they will be treated the same.

"A young player cannot develop if he is not given the chance. The youngsters will get a chance, whether that is playing in the reserves, first-team or travelling with the first-team to gain experience of matchdays.

"They will learn what is expected of them and the professional approach that we will employ and learn from the experience."

• The management saga at Field Mill is discussed on this week's Stags Talk discussion show. Click here to listen now.

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