Being Mansfield Town's forgotten man will make Paul Anderson a better coach

The former Nottingham Forest, Swansea City and Ipswich Town winger was part of the Northampton Town side which won promotion to League One this season following their 4-0 play-off final victory over Exeter City at Wembley.

A far cry from his months of being forced to train with Town’s kids.

Anderson joined the Stags in May 2017 after being signed by Steve Evans. But after the Scot left for League One Peterborough United, Anderson fell out of favour with new boss David Flitcroft.

Rumours about the former Liverpool academy player being a disruptive force in the dressing room circulated, and Anderson was frozen out, leaving the club in January last year, his contract terminated by mutual consent after making 40 appearances.

The winger now has one eye on life after pro football, and believes lessons learned from his time with Town can be to his benefit.

"I'm doing by coaching badges and looking to go into that side of things after playing football.

“The way I've been treated, I've learned a lot about how not to be, which will make me a better coach and manager.

"I've not had everything given to me on a plate and I think I can have empathy towards players more than if I hadn't been through what I have.

"I'm trying to take the positives from negatives and think 'this has shaped me to have a more successful career post-football, whatever I end up doing’.

"When you're down and out, you either grit your teeth and fight or give up. You have a better chance at life when you come through it."

Anderson believes that Flitcroft’s treatment of him was unjust, adding: “The things that got said about me were so wrong. They were all about my character and personality and nothing to do with my footballing ability.

“When it becomes personal you start to question yourself and doubt yourself as a person. I didn't play a game for nearly 18 months because of one manager, you get blackballed."

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