Joe Riley wants to stay with Mansfield Town next season

The 28-year-old made the move north from Plymouth Argyle in the January window and had loved every minute of it before the coronavirus outbreak halted the action and left the future even more uncertain.

“I am playing for a contract. You have to play like that every day and treat it like you're playing for your future,” he said.

“We will have see what happens at the end of the season. But I have really enjoyed my time here. It's been a good environment to walk into.

“Obviously I have had to relocate from Plymouth. But I have really enjoyed it here so far and long may that continue.

“I this is a really great club, I really do. The lads are brilliant and it's been easy to settle in. I already know a couple of them which has made the transition even easier.

“Performances as a team have been really good since I have been here.

“I am only here until the end of the season but I am open to staying as I really like the gaffer, I like the coaching staff, the players and the set-up here. The main thing for me is that my family are happy. They seem to be happy here.

“The distance to away games is a bonus compared with Plymouth. Location-wise this is perfect for me.”

He admitted it had been hard work under Graham Coughlan, but he's taken to the training and his new boss very well.

“Every manager is different,” he said. “Training is quite hard here. But it's enjoyable. The gaffer wants us to show desire and to be honest, that's something I probably am as well.”

Riley has played both right back and right wing back and said: “I don't mind which position to play in.

“Wing back gives you that opportunity to go forward a little bit more compared to full back which is a side of my game that I have always been known for, being an attacking full back.

“So wing back probably fits me. I had played it all season down at Plymouth as well. So it's something I am accustomed to.

“Plymouth play a bit different kind of way to us. You play a lot higher, more so as a winger, and that took a little bit of adapting to at the start of the season. I was getting into positions in which I'd never really found myself in my career. But I really enjoyed it.”