Alex MacDonald full of praise for David Flitcroft

Midfielder Alex MacDonald said David Flitcroft was up there with some of the best bosses he'd ever worked with so far and the players were desperate to rewards his thorough work with results, starting at Yeovil Town tomorrow
Mansfield Town v Port Vale.   
Alex MacDonald and Alfie Potter's joy was short lived in the second half.Mansfield Town v Port Vale.   
Alex MacDonald and Alfie Potter's joy was short lived in the second half.
Mansfield Town v Port Vale. Alex MacDonald and Alfie Potter's joy was short lived in the second half.

“The manager has been brilliant since he’s come in and I have enjoyed working with him,” he said.

“I speak on behalf of a lot of the lads and we have really enjoyed his training.

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“We are out on the training ground for a long time. It’s not the tedious old school kind of training. It’s really good match-related, building up to games and how we can affect the opponents.

“I know the results haven’t gone the way we’d all hoped and wanted them to go. But the thoroughness in his work and attention to detail that he puts into his training sessions, into his analysis, and into his pre-game analysis is first class.

“I’ve worked with some good and successful managers in my time and he’s certainly up there with them.

“He’s been brilliant on the training ground. It’s just unfortunate that we as players and as a group can’t put that together and come up with the positive results that we’ve all been striving for.”

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Although results have taken a huge downward turn over the past 11 games, the side have, largely, continued to play well and it’s hard for them to single out what the problem might be apart from finishing.

MacDonald said: “We have looked at videos, we’ve watched footage, we’ve gone through each game thoroughly – players with management staff – and if there was one thing we could put our finger on we would have definitely done that by now and put it right.

“We are trying as hard as we can. If you look back at the games – and Saturday was a prime example of that – if we take our chances the league position is completely different to what it is at the moment.

“It’s going to be how much we want it now. It’s been there for the whole of the games since the manager’s been here – it’s just about taking our chances.

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“We are creating some really good chances at the minute and if we take them at certain points in games, it’s an old cliché that goals change games.

“I certainly believe if we put two and three past people then you have seen what it does to teams.”

MacDonald feels the necessary fight is there in the players to make the play-offs and added: “It’s been there all season.

“There’s only been a few times you could really say it wasn’t a fighting performance or the lads hadn’t given 100 per cent.

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“It’s only happened once or twice this campaign and it’s something we pride ourselves on. I think the Stags fans deserve that.

“This is a working town and it’s a football club we want to make the town proud of. We can only do that by performances on a Saturday and giving 100 per cent.”