Mansfield Town striker Nicky Maynard says harsh dressing room words after Barrow defeat were needed

Nicky Maynard says harsh words were said as Mansfield Town look to sort out their problems. (Photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images)

It left Mansfield still seeking their first win of the campaign and led to Graham Coughlan being sacked shortly after the final whistle.

And Maynard feels it was crucial for the players to have a frank discussion as they look to rebuild their faltering season.

“There were a few words said within the group, a few harsh words,” he said.

“People have been singled out, but not in a bad way. We don’t want to make people feel like it's their fault.

“We win and lose together as a team and what has been said is for the benefit of the team going forward.

“Whatever has happened, good or bad, needs to be mentioned or you keep repeating mistakes.

“You have got to talk about it, if there’s a few lads saying it then it's down to me or whoever to sort.

“It's not to say that it is this person’s problem or that person's problem, we want to win together as a team.

“If it is going to help us win then it needs to be said. There's been raised voices and arguments. but no malice, the next morning we are friends again.”

And Maynard says struggling Stags must now cut out the errors when they host Walsall at the weekend.

“It is very disappointing that we are still without the win,” he said.

“We had two ok results going into the Barrow game and we were confident we would get the win to get the season going.

“We have been soft and naive when going a goal behind, we have not been clinical enough in both boxes.

“We have made silly mistakes that have cost us goals and when we have been a goal behind we either go 2-0 behind or struggle to create chances to get back into the game.

“We deserved to beat Orient and made silly mistakes. We have been soft in both penalty boxes and we need to eradicate that.”

Visit www.chad.co.uk/stags for the latest Mansfield Town news and match reaction from Saturday.