Callum Johnson delighted to be fit and part of Mansfield Town’s sensational unbeaten run

Right back Johnson, 27, has had to watch much of Stags' sensational unbeaten run from the sidelines after a hamstring injury and he said: “I started the season well on a personal level and quickly built up a good relationship with Aaron Lewis.

“But then I had the injury which lasted a bit longer than I would have liked. Then I had another little setback on top of that.

“Since then the lads have been on an unbelievable run so I have just had to bide my time. It's a results-driven business and I was cheering the lads on. But it's been nice to play some games this last week and I feel really good.”

The former Accrington Stanley man was in fine form in Saturday's 2-1 win at Salford City, providing an assist for Davis Keillor-Dunn's winner with a pinpoint cross and he admitted: “I’m loving life here, absolutely loving it.

“Obviously the injury and little setbacks aren’t ideal, but when I’m out on the pitch, the way we play suits me down to a tee with the formation we play and what the manager asks of the full backs.

“I think it’s just a perfect fit and I want to keep going, keep playing and keep winning. You can't ask for much more as a footballer.”

Johnson ended the Salford game with a big bump behind his ear afrter getting kicked in the head.

“It was a bit of a sore one but it’s alright, it’s gone down now,” he said.

“It was just a bit of bruising and stuff, but it was fine. There was no concussion or anything like that, just a bit of a headache and soreness on Sunday morning.

“I ran across their box and laid the ball off to Rhys (Oates) and one of their players tripped me. Then their lad has come in to try to block Rhys’ shot and he’s caught me.

“It was accidental but it was quite sore. My head hit off the floor and I got a bit of a stud mark on my head, but I’m alright.”

On the importance of the win at Salford, he added: “Saturday's win was massive.

“I think when you have success in football, get promotions and wins over the course of the season, you’re going to have different types of wins and obviously that was a different type of win.

“We didn't have as much possession as we had in previous games, though we were comfortable, keeping the ball in front of us for the majority of the game and keeping them at bay.

“Goals change games and both of our goals had a touch of quality about them on Saturday.

“It was more of a typical away performance and I thought we looked a threat on the counter.

“It was a typical League Two winter months game and we can expect more of them.”

Johnson continued: “It is unbelievable really to still be unbeaten in mid-November. We have to keep it going as long as we can as know it can't go on forever.

“We need to keep our heads down and don't look back or start thinking how good are we? We just need to keep on going like we have been doing.

“The win on Saturday, in this league you need those nitty gritty wins, you just grind out a win from somewhere. When you're not playing as well as you can then you find a way to win, and this season we have been doing that. Winning is the most important thing.”

On Saturday’s opponents, Newport County, Johnson said: “They’ll be tough.

“They’ll be putting quite a lot of bodies behind the ball, but they’ve got threats on the counter, and they’ll be hard to play against, it won’t be easy.

“It will be a different game to Saturday, obviously we’ll expect to have a lot more possession especially at home, and hopefully be able to break them down and again find a way to win.

“They have played a back five for much of this season with four in front of them and one up front, though they changed it a few times. So you never know what to expect. We just have to impose our game on them.”