Graham Coughlan feels Mansfield Town are 'not in a bad place' ahead of league opener

Stags have suffered defeats to Preston in the Carabao Cup and Man City U21’s in the EFL Trophy in their only competitive outings this season.

But Coughlan is confident his side are well-placed when they open the league campaign at home to Tranmere.

“I’m more than happy with the fitness levels. I’m more than happy with the work rate and the commitment,” he said.

“There is something stirring. That’s hard say after a defeat (3-0 at home to Man City on Tuesday), but there is something in that dressing room that I really like.

“We are a young squad and we do get moments of naivety, but that is part and parcel. We’re not a bad team at this moment in time.

“We’ve been hit hard as the fixture list hasn’t been kind to us – but we’ll have a different mindset and mentality come Saturday.

“We’re all ready to go and we’re not in a bad place.”

Coughlan will have a full squad to pick from after no injuries were picked up against Man City.

“Everyone came through it (City game) and it’s another game we’ve come through without injury,” he added.

“That’s a plus point. No one likes losing a game of football but I do have to take my hat off to Man City.

“I’ll have to pick the lads up as they’ll be hurting, but everyone is now looking forward to Saturday.

“We’ll have a conversation about the game, we’ll dust ourselves down and be ready for Saturday.”