Mansfield Town will start to experiment once safety is assured

Stags are 13 points clear of the drop with 11 games to go and assistant manager Joe Dunne said he and boss Graham Coughlan wanted to see some of their fringe players and youngsters in action.

“That would be wise,” he said. “Some of the periphery players are not getting regular game time at the moment.

“So I think there will come a time – the gaffer has done it before.

“If we can get to a good position in the league we can look at one or two of these players in a more stressful environment – not so much Craig Davies – he is a super-experienced player - but one or two of the younger players.

“We'd like to give them an opportunity but it's all about timing.

“They are training with us all the time and learning all the time.”