Big win at Peterborough United the perfect Christmas present for Mansfield Town says two-goal star Will Evans

Evans netted twice and Baily Cargill once in an electric first 31 minutes with Stags cruising home in the end for a third clean sheet in a row.

“It is the best Christmas present we could have hoped for,” smiled Evans.

“When you have to come down here on a Christmas night and leave your families behind, it makes it worth it with that kind of performance.

“I capped it off with a couple of goals for myself personally, which was a great feeling.

“That one was for the fans, who turned out in their numbers today and deserved that.

“I have had chances in recent games and should have probably notched a few more.

“That first one today, I wanted it so bad. It was just about getting myself in there and getting anything on it to see if it trickled in. It wasn't the nicest of goals, but these are the ones that count.

“From my celebration you could probably tell I was buzzing with that one.

“My second came from another good set piece by Keanu (Baccus), which we have worked on over the past couple of weeks.

“It was just about me getting across my man and making good contact. Luckily enough I got enough power on it.

“I was happy to score two but I should have probably had a third in the second half.

“Our first goal came from a set piece too. As long as the delivery is on the money it's down to us to do our jobs.”

Stags have now taken seven out of nine points after that run of five successive defeats.

“We didn't let our heads go down as we'd played well in those five defeats and we stuck with it and trusted what we do,” said Evans.

“The point at Charlton was important to stop the losses – and we got a clean sheet. Then we beat Rotherham with a clean sheet too and here again today.

“Three clean sheets on the bounce and seven points out of nine is definitely something to build on again.”

He added: “We know what we can do when we are on it. That's life in League One – you have to be on it every game.

“Peterborough is not an easy place to come. They score a lot of goals, play on the front foot and have a very dynamic front four.

“We just had to make sure we were one better – and we were three better today.

“We have a strong, dynamic squad that really should be in those play-off positions.

“We are good enough to be up there and we love showing that to everyone, especially our fans.