Mansfield Town boss Graham Coughlan: 'I want wins'

Coughlan was speaking ahead of the visit of League Two leaders Swindon Town to the One Call Stadium this weekend, where Stags will aim to extend their unbeaten run at home to four matches.

But having been enthused by what he’s seen from his players overall since taking charge, he now wants to see those improvements turned into more points.

He said: “It’s pretty hard to take anything away from games of football when you're not winning.

“I get where people are coming from when they're patting us on the back but let’s not pat ourselves on the back for losing games of football.

“We’re here to win games and bring success to this football club. I can see the change and the improvements and where we’re going with it, but at the end of the day, as a player, as a kid and growing up, my life was built around winning and I want us to have that mentality.

“It’s nice to play pretty and to dominate a promotion-chasing team like against Cheltenham and Plymouth but we haven't won those games of football and that’s the most disappointing thing for me so far.”

Nevertheless, Coughlan was still keen to give his players praise where it was due, particularly with regard to their mentality having improved since his arrival.

He said: “At the risk of contradicting myself, everything else has been productive and really positive. The players are now going into games slightly more confident than they were previously, but we can’t paper over the cracks as football is about winning.

“When I arrived the players were negative and beaten up and felt they couldn't put one foot in front of the other.

“The fitness levels weren’t quite where I wanted them but it's tough when you're not winning, particularly with the hangover from last season and so on.

“We needed to shape and fix and I think we're slowly getting there in terms of performances, stats and dominating games which all suggest there has been a positive change, but at the only stats and numbers that will satisfy me are getting points, wins and climbing up the league table.

“We have not won enough games and I take that personally. I want success for this football club. The owners have gone out of their way to bring me here and I've given up a lot and walked away from a lot to bring success here, and I will get there, but it's possibly taken a bit longer than I wanted and expected.”