David Flitcroft praises Mansfield Town players for going '˜toe to toe' with Sheffield United

David Flitcroft was full of praise for his Mansfield Town players for again going '˜toe to toe' with a quality Championship side in today's home 0-0 pre-season friendly draw with Sheffield United.
Stags boss David FlitcroftStags boss David Flitcroft
Stags boss David Flitcroft

After the midweek win over Derby County, Stags again more than matched the quality opposition today and Flitcroft beamed: “We were very professional and very organised today and at times went toe to toe with, let’s get it right, a Sheffield United team that Chris has been building there off a solid foundation.

“He has changed system and they play the 3-5-2 better than anyone out there, certainly in the Championship.

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“They are a fit team and a dynamic team. They ask more questions of you than Derby do as they more relentless in their approach with what they do.

“We struggled for the first 15 minutes with the overloads and the way the centre half was coming out with the ball.

“Once we got a grip of that we had some really good spells ourself and wrestled the game back in our favour.”

Flitcroft continued: “I was delighted with everyone’s performances – it was a squad display today – and we’ve gone toe to toe with a fantastic Championship team.

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“They have been two colossal games this weeks in terms of opposition, but the lads have stood up to every test thrown at them.

“United score a lot of goals from set pieces, but we handled that well and looked threatening at times from our own.”

The manager also had praise for the noisy home crowd.

“It was nice for the new players to feel the warmth of our crowd today and feel that Saturday afternoon feeling and appreciation,” he said.

“It’s been good for them to witness how powerful our home support can be.”