A season to savour – Jamie McDonnell relishing life at Mansfield Town and senior Northern Ireland call-ups

The 21-year-old defensive midfielder believes the welcoming environment and freedom to express himself in League One with the Stags is working wonders for his confidence and manager Nigel Clough has already said he hopes he won't have to play a game without the youngster in his starting line-up this season.

Having played for Northern Ireland at U17 level, McDonnell made his senior international debut against Germany on September 7, 2025, coming on as an 88th minute substitute in a 3-1 defeat.

He was then on the bench for the following clashes with Slovakia and Germany before starting at U21 level, also against the Germans.

On his international elevation, he said: “It has been brilliant. That first game away in Germany it was an unbelievable environment playing against the Germans.

“Sometimes you are just stood there looking at these boys you have watched on TV for years and you are standing in front of them.

“It was a really good experience.

“It was unbelievable to just be on that pitch with all the boys I have known from when I was younger.

“Then to come on against a nation like Germany, with boys like Joshua Kimmich that I have watched on the TV playing in the Champions League for Bayern Munich for years, it was surreal and unreal.

“Then it was playing at home in the last two camps. I cannot put into words what it was like to be at Windsor Park, it was that good.

“Then I dropped down to the U21s to play against Germany as well, which was also a great experience.”

He added: “At international level it is a lot more like 'you have it then we have it'. The games are a lot different.

“The league programme is 46 games but at international level you have just two games per camp to make big points in big games, so you really have to come away with the points.

“You don't have a lot of time together so it's very compressed with a lot of tactical stuff fired at you in a short space of time.”

Domestically he is also enjoying life at Mansfield.

“It has been great so far. I think we have started very well,” he said.

“We have settled in well. As the gaffer said at the start of the season, it will take a long time for the boys to gel as a team. But I think we are starting to show it in our performances lately.

“It has been a competitive league and a lot of the games have been very tight apart from the win over Leyton Orient.”

McDonnell is a player who likes to get stuck in as well as pass and particularly enjoyed the battle in last week's 2-0 win away at Luton Town.

“A lot of the stuff we have been working on came together and the team came together as a unit and showed how hard work together can produce results against big sides,” he said.

“I love those sort of games, the competitiveness of a lot of games in League One, but especially that one on Saturday, coming up against a good, big side in Luton and getting the result over the line in the end.

“I don't mind being the underdog in a big game against a big side like Luton, who only came down from the Premier League two years ago.”

He is loving the day to day atmosphere at Mansfield and said: “This is a really together group and it feels like everyone are mates on and off the pitch.

“It feels like a family environment you are playing in, so you can play with the shackles off and really express yourself in this team.

“The boys around me fill me with confidence to do what I do best.

“I feel like I can really express myself on the pitch and play with freedom.

“The boys around me are great players and they make you look even better.

“At times I make a bad pass and they just smooth it out and make you look good at the same time.

“I am loving it here day in, day out, not just on the pitch on a Saturday but also at the training ground and I thrive on it.”

Stags now have three successive home games in eight days and McDonnell said: “This is a really good spell for us being at home in front of the home fans.

“If we get some good results from these games we could get ourselves into a really good position coming up to Christmas.

“I think we just now need to build on what we did in the first 10 games or so of the season and I think we could really push on and do well this season.”

McDonnell began his career with Lisburn Youth and Glentoran before signing for Forest in July 2020.

He signed professional terms in February 2021 after turning 17 and captained their U18 team.

He agreed a new two year contract with Forest in August last year with an option for a further year and then went out for a season loan in league Two at Colchester United.

McDonnell then joined Stags on a season-long loan in the summer alongside fellow young Reds Joe Gardner and Kyle McAdam.

Boss Clough said: “It is Jamie's first time in League One and I think it is a natural step up for him this year after last season in League Two at Colchester, where he did exceptionally well.

“He can have a season at League One this year and see where he goes after that.

“I thought on Saturday he was very unfussy, just going around doing his job, dispossessing people and getting his tackles in all over the pitch.

“He is a bit of a throwback in that he enjoys tackling and heading and that side of the game.

“You used to get midfielders 20-30 years ago doing that and enjoying it.

“He just has to develop more all round on the ball to go to the next level.”

Clough continued: “I think we brought in 11 or 12 players in the summer, so it's taking time for them to settle in.

“They say Christmas is probably the time for everything to gel. But I think we are seeing encouraging signs with some good play and good performances.

“Tyler Roberts is getting on the ball and you look at the spine of the team now Deji Oshilaja is back as well and it looks reasonably strong.

“It would still be nice to have the other three or four injured players available just to give us those options.

“It is mid October and we have not yet had everybody available to choose from.”