Will Mansfield Town fans see exciting new loan duo in action against Colchester United?

Mansfield Town fans will be hoping to see exciting new loan signings Matty Longstaff and Jamie Murphy in action for the first time in tomorrow night's home clash with Colchester United (Tuesday, 7.45).
Will Matty Longstaff get his first Stags outing against Colchester?Will Matty Longstaff get his first Stags outing against Colchester?
Will Matty Longstaff get his first Stags outing against Colchester?

But boss Nigel Clough warned that, with his side nine unbeaten in League Two, they were not guaranteed to walk straight into the team.

The pair signed on deadline day last Monday and Clough said: “The squad reacted well to the two new signings, even before they trained together for the first time.

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“The first training session is difficult when you're just settling in, but you can their quality. They have three months with us with 19 games and they will have an impact in those games.

“They also realise they are coming into a team that is playing so well. They have to earn their place in the team.

“Neither of them have played 90 minutes for a while or started many games.

Jamie Murphy has been coming off the bench – I think he had 25 minutes last week. And Matty has been at Aberdeen but not starting too much.

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“It will be a case of building them up but with only 19 games to go we can't wait too long.

“We will probably nip out for a bite to eat so they feel settled, but you've got to have a clean week as you can't do it when you have midweek games. When we get the opportunity we'll have a look at that.”

Stags had the luxury of a blank weekend last weekend and Clough said: “The lads had the weekend off just to relax. It's always the balance between those playing regularly and those on the fringes of the squad.

“But there are not many of them and we had to keep that four or five up to speed.

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“Faz Rawson did a bit, having missed two games through suspension.

“But the majority of the lads have played so many games and it's the first week in February. So it's not a fitness issue now. It's a rest issue as much as anything to keep them fresh.

“After tomorrow we don't have another home game for a month. So we're going to be on the road a lot with a lot of travelling.”