Big Read: Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough discusses the challenges of battling League One's big boys, bagging the bargains and what could have been this time around

Planning for Mansfield’s third season in the third tier of English football is now well underway after Stags mathematically secured their survival with the point against Luton at the weekend.

But Clough knows he faces a stiff test if he is to guide Stags to a successful campaign in a league stacked with big-hitters.

“It will be a tough challenge next season because the league will strengthen again by the nature of the teams who are coming into it, even those coming up from League Two,” he said.

“I don’t think too many teams will fancy going to Bromley next season. It will be a big shock, especially for the big boys coming out of the Championship.

“We will definitely be facing Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester, possibly, and Oxford or West Brom, depending on points deductions.

“Then there will be whoever doesn’t go up from the likes of Bolton, Bradford, Huddersfield and some big teams who will miss out on the play-offs. It’s going to be an incredibly tough challenge next season for teams like ourselves.”

The fine point against promotion-chasing Luton ensured Stags moved to 55 points and beat last season’s points tally of 54 in the process.

It is the third season in a row that Mansfield have ended the campaign with an improved record.

And Clough believes that encouraging improvement is down to one simple fact - better players.

“We have already beaten last season’s points tally and we think we have improved,” he added.

“We have got better players this season. We brought in excess of a dozen players over the course of the two transfer windows. That’s what we try to do, to improve the squad each year.

“The biggest problem again - and one of the biggest challenges - has been keeping the players fit. We have good cover for Baily Cargill, but we still miss him because he is one of our best defenders. We have also missed Luke Bolton and Tyler Roberts.

“You can see what Tyler Roberts brings to us in the last week, you saw him against Arsenal. If we get him on the pitch for 50/60 per cent of games then you are going to be a better team.”

But despite the upward trajectory a frustrated Clough is left wondering what could have been had a few of the fine margins gone in his side’s favour.

“We are 13 points off Stevenage who are in the last play-off spot,” added Clough. “You look at the away defeats to Port Vale, Burton, Wigan, Blackpool and Northampton and those are the ones where we think ‘where would we be if we had got something from those games?’, maybe we wouldn’t be so far away.

“The Christmas period was absolutely vital for us in getting those three wins, especially going to Barnsley and coming back from 2-0 down. We rallied and had a brilliant victory and went on to get two more wins. As a batch, those three games were as important as any.

“Thirteen points looks a lot, but over the course of the season, even the first two games of the season, we should have got more points. We should have got a point at Burton and then we lose to Doncaster in the 95th minute. There’s a couple of points on the board straight away.

“We think we have been on the end of a few wrong decisions as well.

“It is difficult to judge how far off we are when you have got people out. I don’t think until we have a fully fit squad, which I don’t think we have had once this season, you can assess that.

“The financial resources that Luton have got because of the parachute payments is at a different level to anybody else in League One, which is why we were so pleased to go toe to toe with them on Saturday.”

Clough now faces the daunting proposition of trying to build a squad capable of being competitive and also trying to take Stags to new heights.

It’s a challenge which Clough knows will need a certain amount of cunning if he is to find the right fit in a highly competitive transfer market.

“The challenge is to bring in the right player who improves us and fits in with our budget,” added Clough. “It is a challenge for everyone, to find the ones that others might just miss or the ones that have gone under the radar, whether they have been injured for a while or have

lost form.

“They are the sort of ones that we can get because if it comes down to a financial race with the likes of Luton then we can’t compete, that’s not a criticism it is just a fact and we are pretty content with that.

“We know that is the reality of football, but we are going to try our best to get in three or four good players and keep the majority of what we have got, and build with those as well.

“What a lot of people don’t factor in each year is the improvement of the squad you have already got. Kyle Knoyle has come in this season, it's his first season with us. He will be better next year for this season. Any of the lads who came in last summer, because of the year here and knowing us and what we are looking for, will be better. They always improve in the second year.”

Next season’s League One could feature as many as 12 former Premier League sides if Stevenage or Stockport were to win the play-offs and Swindon come up from League Two,

But this season has shown that the less fancied sides can still overcome the odds and succeed with Lincoln claiming a famous title success and Stevenage taking their unlikely play-off push down to the wire.

It’s a fairytale story that Clough believes can also offer inspiration to Stags next time out.

“We have to look up to Lincoln and Stevenage and try and emulate them,” he said. “They have been building at this level for two or three seasons and you see the results of good recruitment, good management and everything. They are good solid clubs.

“They are probably paying a few more quid than us, especially in Lincoln’s case. If Stevenage are going to get into the play-offs ahead of some of the big boys then you have to look at them.”