LOMAS ON MANSFIELD TOWN: Struggling Stags must improve defending and get themselves safe soon

New boss Graham Coughlan, himself a no-nonsense centre half in his days as a player, must have been suffering indescribable agony watching his side’s excruciatingly bad defending as more points were thrown away in Saturday’s insane 4-3 home defeat by Forest Green Rovers.

Coughlan has been begging his players for a home win and a first clean sheet under his command since the middle of last month.Instead they shipped four more home goals with some of the worst defending seen at the One Call all season and once more ended a home game with nothing.Big Rovers centre half Farrend Rawson, born just down the road in Nottingham, is 6ft 3ins tall but was twice given the freedom of the box to head home.

He had only scored two other goals in his previous 88 games and could hardly believe Mansfield’s generosity.

A slowness to close players down saw two more goals fly in as Rovers cruelly snatched all three points in a sixth added minute at the end.With John Dempster sacked last month and Coughlan installed, still the soft defensive underbelly remains which suggests it is players rather than managers who must take the blame.Coughlan knows he needs to be ruthless and has already told Krystian Pearce and Jacob Mellis they can leave and doubtless others could follow.He has also publicly suggested the squad that came so close to automatic promotion last season may have became lazy and idle and needed his size nine up their backsides.And he has constantly questioned their fitness levels – all criticisms that seem aimed at the previous regime.Inevitably, when a club like Mansfield, with wealthy and caring owners, has a rough patch, other clubs and players will see cash symbols whizzing round before them in transfer windows.

They know Stags are desperate to improve and will try to extract the maximum money they can from the situation in wages and/or transfer fees.

Coughlan has already bravely said he would rather soldier on with what he has, bolstered by some of the club's youngsters, than allow him or the Radfords to be ripped off.

But, whatever happens in this window or the summer one, fans and owners simply want to see enough points accrued to stay out of an unthinkable scramble against relegation.

Last season we can remember Notts County fans saying they were too good to go down after being play-off semi-finalists the year before.

But, although there are thankfully some much poorer sides below Stags and an eight-point gap to 23rd, there are still enough tough games to come in which points may be hard to come by and nothing should ever be taken for granted in this game.

Points won't come any harder to attain than at bogey club and high-flying Plymouth on Saturday when Coughlan will be hoping for a dream return to his old stomping ground.