Adam Murray delighted to see youth getting a chance at Mansfield Town

Murray was instrumental in creating up the current academy set-up and was distraught to see it all but abandoned under the management of Steve Evans.

Now it is very much thriving again with young players making the first team and Murray said: “It’s great to see.

“I know under the old regime it was kind of cut off from everything.

“For me, it’s not just about the amount of time I was at Mansfield, but all the staff that are in there at the minute – John Dempster, Scott Rickards, Mike Whitlow – were the staff I put in place.

“I still have a lot of connections there. So I know how good they are.

“And a lot of the young lads that you’re starting to see come through were people we brought in the building. Sometimes you need time with these kids and you have to allow them to develop.

“So it’s fantastic to see they’ve got a manager in place now who has the same thought process and mindset that we did and will allow the kids a chance to come through.”

He added: “At the end of the day at a club like Mansfield you need that production line.

“We have it at the minute at Barnsley and we had a 16-year-old make his debut recently. That’s what it’s all about.”