Jamie McGuire wants Mansfield Town fans to back the boys

The Stags players and boss Graham Coughlan have come under fire from sections of frustrated fans as the wait for a first win of the campaign drags on.

And McGuire is now appealing for the supporters to keep the faith.

“One result cant kick it on,” he said. “We have got to stick together, we are not hiding and we know results need to be better.

“We felt after Tuesday that it was a good solid performance. There was a buzz and the players said it was a solid display and we need to kick on.

“We are all working to give the boys what they need. We work hard every day and when the boys go out they have to perform.

“We are 100 per cent behind them and we need the fans to be behind them as well.

“There will be questions, I have seen that as a player at this club - but stick with us, get behind us and hopefully we can get the three points.”

Stags face a tough test on Saturday as they travel to a third-placed Cheltenham side, who already have five League Two wins to their name.

Defeat for Stags would leave them already 14 points the Robins and see the gap on the play-off pack widen even further.

But McGuire says there is no panic at this early stage of the season.

“Everyone expects Mansfield to be up there, and rightly so, but there are times in the season when you win seven in a row or lose four on the bounce,” he added.

“You will always have a tough spell during a season and we are having ours now. There is no hiding from it.

“We can see it and the fans can see it and we are working hard to get our quality.

“I have been in teams as a player who were 14 points behind and went on to win the league. It happens.

“Are you going to win the league in October? no, but we have three important games on the bounce now and hopefully we can pick up points and kick on.”

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