Louis Reed back enjoying his football with Mansfield Town after injury nightmare

Playing at the base of a diamond he has been instrumental in pulling the strings during Stags' fine start to the campaign.

A January signing last year from Swindon Town, Reed suffered medial ligament damage against Bradford City in only his second game which put him out for almost three months.

It was a game in which Stags lost three players to injury before half-time as the injury jinx bit hard. And it was new ground for Reed.

“When I came in last season I was injured almost straight away,” he said.

"So I felt like I had a lot to prove this season.

“So far I feel like I have done that and things can only improve from here on.

“It was really tough as I had never had an injury and been out for that length of time before. But the staff were brilliant with me.

“I am back enjoying my football again, it's nice to be back out there and the lads around me are doing great as well.”

Reed is enjoying the style of play.

“The manager wants to play out and I think we've got the balance right at the minute in that, if it's not quite on, we're going a bit longer and we are getting joy from that as well,” he said.

“It's enjoyable for me as once it's up there I let the other lads do their business.

“It is nice to have the people around you that want to play as well. They make my job a lot easier.

"We all know each other's qualities too which really helps.”