Mansfield Town taking care over match minutes for top scorer Davis Keillor-Dunn

With 17 huge games to go in the promotion chase and Keillor-Dunn now on 15 goals after his winner against Notts County last weekend, Clough acknowledged how important a role the 26-year-old former Oldham Athletic star will play.

But Clough also wants to avoid any burn-out, saying: “Davis is always liable to get you a goal. But you can't play a player like that every minute of every single game.

“So it's all about picking and choosing and thinking over the last 17 games when he is going to be most effective.

“I think his success is also down to the other players and the opportunities they create for him. The way we play gives him a free role in order to express himself.

“But you saw the individual brilliance he showed on Saturday for the winning goal.

“He has done that on numerous occasions right from the first day at Crewe when he scored a couple and could have had three or four on that day.”