Mansfield Town youngster hails hard work and sacrifice after signing pro contract
Mansfield Town youngster Freddie Shepherd says his hard work has paid off after signing a pro deal with the club.
Shepherd joined fellow academy under-19s players Jayden Chambers-Morgan and Jacob Stubbs in putting pen to paper for a pro deal with Stags.
"What started as a call to help out at Mansfield has now led me to the next step in my life — officially signing my professional contract with Mansfield Town. Honestly, I’m beyond made up,” wrote on Shepherd on facebook. “All the years of hard work, sacrifices, setbacks, travelling, training, and believing in myself have finally paid off. I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity and excited to continue proving myself every single day. “I just want to remind anyone who may be struggling right now — bad times don’t last. We get up, we work hard, and we move forward. “Every setback motivated me to become a better version of myself. It pushed me harder, made me stronger, and taught me to never give up. I’ve got a lot of people to thank for being part of my journey so far, and I hope many of them continue this journey with me.”
The youngsters will join up with the club’s B Team group from the start of 2026/27 pre-season for fixtures against non-league men’s teams and other professional Academies.
On the trio signing professional deals, Academy manager Richard Cooper said: “It’s been a decent campaign for us as an under-18s group.
“After finishing second in the Youth Alliance League, all the coaches and the gaffer thought that Jayden and Jacob were the standouts within their group.
“Frankie’s been absolutely brilliant for us and the goalkeeping department felt it was right to offer him a contract supporting the B Team next year.
“The performances of the three players have been monitored quite closely and it’s always nice to reward their endeavours with professional contracts and get careers up and running.”
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