End of the road for Burnley loanee Richard Nartey at Mansfield Town?

Clough doesn't want the 23-year-old sat in the stands forever, but will not make a hasty decision with no certainty over the returning James Perch's fitness, a two-game suspension for Farrend Rawson and Oli Hawkins one booking away from a two-game ban.

Nartey has spent much of his loan spell out injured but is now fit again and Clough said: We will see how it goes.

“Obviously we brought him into the club in mind of James Perch being out, so he may go back. We're not sure and we will see how James goes at Alfreton tonight first.

“With Perchy coming back and JJ (O'Toole) signing permanent and Hawkins playing back there as well, Richard's injury really set him back though he has been fit for a week or two.

“But it's difficult for players on the fringes to get in with the team doing so well, and he understands that.

“What we don't want to do is just keep Richard around for the sake of it when he can go out there and maybe play for somebody else or go back to Burnley and play for them.

“We will have a chat with him about what he wants to do – we still have five or six days before the window closes.

“We will see how we go – anything could happen in the next few days.”

Nartey made his debut in the 3-1 home defeat by Harrogate in September and also started the 3-1 loss at Walsall soon after.

Injury then saw a long lay-off with his only other appearance as a late sub in the home win over Swindon in January.

Stags will be without Rawson for Saturday's visit of Leyton Orient after two cautions in four minutes saw him dismissed at Barrow last weekend.

“He misses two games now which is unfortunate,” said Clough.

“We can't complain about the second yellow card but the first one wasn't even a foul, never mind a yellow.

“But we will deal with it. The other slight complication is Oli Hawkins is now on nine bookings and if he gets one more he will miss two games.

“If Oli Hawkins gets booked that might change the situation.”

“So we will do everything we can for him not to be booked on Saturday, otherwise they will both be missing for Harrogate which we could do without.”

It looks unlikely Stoke City loanee centre half Will Forrester will return to Mansfield to extend that spell too with Stoke still refusing to allow him out again and Stags now having more cover in the position.

“You never know in the last day or two of the window, but at the moment it's a no from Stoke,” said Clough.