Back-to-back wins target as Mansfield Town grow in confidence

Boss David Flitcroft said his side were visibly growing in confidence with every game after holding high-flying MK Dons 1-1 and then cruising to a 3-0 midweek victory at Crewe Alexandra.

“That dressing room is desperate for back-to-back wins now,” he said.

“Against MK on Saturday, they have invested wisely and they’ve got League One players, so it was like taking a League One team on and we went toe to toe with them.

“I think the belief the boys got out of that we took into Tuesday night’s game.

“So, without doing a lot Thursday or Friday, mentally the boys went to Crewe – a place where it is difficult to get a result – and won and they will now be able to take that belief into Saturday’s game.

“We will go down the motorway buoyant, but certainly not arrogant. We will make sure our work is consistent and solidified.”

Fitcroft said he could see the improvement in individuals as well as the team as players responded to his coaching.

He said: “I have supported Tyler (Walker) over a rough period over the last few weeks, but he’s not come out the other side and looks good again. And CJ (Hamilton) got his end product right tonight which we’ve been working desperately on.

“So there are a lot of good signs and good shoots. We are steadily improving on our work and that’s what is important to me.”

The manager believes the current good form goes back to the hard pre-season training camp in Portugal where he began to try to get his ideas across ahead of his first full season in charge.

“I have reaffirmed to the players, it goes back to the work in possession and out of possession that we did in Portugal - you saw it on Saturday with two good footballing teams,” he said.

“We came up against another good footballing side at Crewe on Tuesday night and we’ve shown both sides of our game – the right times to pass and get it down and the right times to be positive and go and hurt teams.

“I think that’s key. It’s not about the short pass or the long pass, it’s about the right pass.

“You have to make those decisions and we have done that. We have been really clinical and our finishing was excellent.

“The lads know I want to play in the right areas and they are taking those decisions on board.”

Mansfield will welcome defender Ryan Sweeney back from a one-game ban but await news of an Achilles’ tendon injury for midfielder Otis Khan, which forced him to miss the trip to Crewe.