LOMAS ON STAGS: Mansfield Town quickly need to rebuild ‘Fortress One Call Stadium’

Stags have now only won once in six home games and the fortress that was the One Call Stadium in much need of rebuilding.

Yet, after such a disappointing second half, it was easy to forget how well Nigel Clough’s men had played in the first half.

At 2-0 up they should have won the game. No question.

But quite how Billy Waters got that ball inside the far post from that angle in first half stoppage time I don’t know. And it was the timing of it that gave Barrow that extra spur to go up a gear and win it.

Stags have had five on target shots against them in the last two games – and all have found the back of the net. Yet both performances could and should have yielded victories.

Fans are rightly concerned but it is still only January and Stags are sat a single point off fourth place in a division in which only two points separates fourth from 10th.

It is a close and thrilling contest and only takes a couple of successive wins to be right up there in the thick of it.

Although Clough is still trying to freshen things up with two or three new faces, he still believes that – fully fit – the squad he assembled in the summer is good enough to get promotion.

Despite injuries and sheer bad luck they are still up there with the play-off pace, if not the automatic spots. But they do need to quickly regain that home form as promotion will not be won solely on the road.

Once again we have Premier League clubs bleating about domestic cups this week.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is saying FA Cup games should not go to replays and moaning about how many games his club have to play already – but the more games you’re playing the more successful you are being generally.

He obviously has no idea about the tradition and magic of the FA Cup for EFL and non-league clubs – and with the size of the highly paid squads the big clubs possess it is laughable they are being asked to play too much football. It’s what they’re paid for and there are many other jobs far more tiring and taxing.