Huge away test for Mansfield Town as Wycombe Wanderers aim for a 10th win on the bounce

Stags head for Adams Park on the back of two narrow 1-0 defeats – their first back-to-back losses since promotion after Saturday's 1-0 home loss to Bristol Rovers.

Boss Nigel Clough admitted: “This will be our biggest test so far as any team that wins nine games on the spin will be absolutely brimming with confidence.

“They will be the most confident side in the country.

“I bet they can't wait - you want to play every day when you are in that sort of run of form.

“So it will be a very stern test, but one that has come at an ideal time for us.”

He added: “Wycombe are very good at what they do.

“They have been building this team for two or three seasons now for League One. And in Richard Kone they have got an incredibly dangerous player.

“They are very potent going forward and solid defensively.

“They switch between a couple of systems as they need to and seem to have everybody just about fully fit.

“Everything is gelling for them and everything is working for them.”

Despite the last two results, Stags have every intention of trying to take the game to Wycombe tomorrow.

“We won't change the way we approach it. We've scored in every away game apart from Wrexham,” said Clough.

“We have to keep attacking and keep playing. We can't lose faith in the way we are trying to play.

“In the last couple of games we have lost 1-0 but played pretty well in both games.

“We have to try to keep that consistency and those standards and then the results will come.

“Everything we have faced this season we have faced admirably.

“We don't always get the result but we have faced up to the challenge, and it will be no different tomorrow.”

On Saturday Stags were missing Lee Gregory, with a swollen knee, and Baily Cargill, out with illness, and then had Frazer Blake-Tracy limp off.

“We will have to see how Lee settles down,” said Clough.

“With 11 games in 44 days before last weekend, this is a very intense period, especially with five games over Christmas and New Year coming up, so we will see how he is but we won't rush him as there are too many games to go.

“Baily Cargill will train this morning and see how he feels.

“I think there is a bit of something going round and one or two of the lads have reported in with it so we will see how they feel too.

“We are hoping Frazer will train but it's also a case of we can't risk anything.

“He got a bit of a twist and an impact all at the same time in a tackle – just part of football and those physical challenges.

“But if we can get him out there we will as I thought he was excellent on Saturday.”

On the Rovers defeat last weekend, Clough said: “It was disappointing and frustrating as we created enough situations in the game to get a goal.

“They scored with just about their only shot on target which makes it doubly so.

“Quite a few teams nicked results away from home at the weekend against the run of play.

“Maybe the conditions played a part, but we were not the only ones to suffer in that sort of game.

“We have had 30-odd shots in the last two games and not scored a goal – so that is something we need to address more than anything. It's not like we are not creating chances.

“There is certainly an element of misfortune in there where it's not quite dropping for us, but we have to do more and be better.

“It doesn't help when you are missing your leading scorer. But you then need someone else to step up.”

He added: “Before Friday's training we had everyone nearly fully fit apart from Rhys Oates.

“Then all of a sudden you have an injury and an illness, then another possible injury and illness after the weekend.

“It changes very quickly and that is when the strength of the squad comes into play.

“It's not ideal, but that's what you have squads for and generally this season I think we have coped very well with absences.”

Mansfield face three tough away game in a row now and Clough said: “When you look at the fixtures that we have in the next 10 games, it is an incredibly important stage of the season.

“You look at the games on paper and it's a bit frightening with the quality of the sides we are going to play.

“But we have already done well against sides like Birmingham, Wigan and Barnsley and we have to have the same approach.

“We have a tough week on the road, down South a couple of times and then back up to the North-West at Bolton.

“I think we will know a lot more about the squad and where we are in the league after these three games.

“We know when we are on it we can compete. When we do what we do well we have a chance in every game. We have been in every game and it's down to fine margins.”