Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough staying positive, despite injury list lengthening​​​​​​​ and more points lost

Riley Harbottle faces a spell out after a nasty early head injury while Elliott Hewitt battled on with a broken nose.

“When you get eight players out, now Riley as well, and Elliott Hewitt playing with a broken nose, it's tough,” said Clough

“You could see Rhys Oates was shattered just playing 30 minutes near the end, there was no way he could start, James Perch the same.

“The team almost picked itself.”

On the Harbottle injury, he added: “He challenged and was caught late and has gone to hospital to get checked out. We will know more later but you take no chances with head injuries and he will be looked after accordingly.”

There were few chances at either end in a dour game and Clough said: “Things are certainly not dropping for us – and we had enough situations today. We also wasted a couple of opportunities.

“We also wasted our first three corners.

“But I thought we dealt with Sutton and their particular approach extremely well and restricted them to very few opportunities.

“We just need to be a bit better going forward ourselves.

“They are difficult to play against. They hope for a set play or a long throw and they defend it accordingly if they get 1-0 ahead. So the last thing you want to do is go 1-0 behind against them - and that is the first point we've got off them in two seasons.

“It's another point and you're three games unbeaten so it keeps bit of confidence going as you go into the last nine games.

“We wanted to win at least one of our two home games this week. We've not quite managed to do it but we've got two clean sheets. And one thing no one can question is the effort of the players today.

“With the disruptions we've had it's a good clean sheet.”

He added: “I thought James Gale did very well for an hour today. He has not played many games with injury of late.”

There is little prospect of many players returning for next week's visit of Crawley Town.

“Louis Reed might have a chance of next weekend, we will have to see how it goes. But the only one certain to be back is Stephen Quinn – and that was self-inflicted after that silly rash act at Northampton,” said Clough.