Ex-Stag Neal Bishop named joint boss of Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity have appointed a new joint management team, with former Mansfield Town midfielder Neal Bishop taking his first top job.
Experienced midfielder Bishop, 40, who was a key part of Trinity’s midfield last season and who has nearly 800 professional appearances to his name, has been named as boss alongside 34-year-old Damon Parkinson, who was assistant to outgoing manager Tom Shaw last season having also worked in a similar role at Frickley Athletic and as a joint-manager at Newark Town.
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Hide AdBishop added: “It is a huge honour and a privilege to be asked to be manager of Gainsborough Trinity alongside Damon. We share many core beliefs of how the game should be played and are committed to continuing with the brand of football that Tom instilled in the group last season.
“We are determined to give our supporters a team this town can be proud of and work is going on behind the scenes to ensure this is the case.”
PLAY-OFF FINAL LIVE BLOG: Mansfield Town v Port Vale
Key Events
- LATEST: Mansfield 0-2 Port Vale - Stags down to ten men after 35 minutes.
- Stags team: Bishop, McLaughlin, Hewitt, Murphy, Bowery, Hawkins, Perch (c), Quinn, Oates, O’Toole, Longstaff. Subs: Clarke, Maris, Wallace, Stirk, Lapslie, Akins, Stech (GK)
- Port Vale: Stone, Gibbons, Smith, Hall, Benning, Worrall, Garrity, Pett (c), Taylor, Harratt, Wilson. Subs: Covolan, Martin, Charsley, Proctor, Robinson, Amoo, Edmondson.
- Kick-off at Wembley is 4pm
- Thousands of Stags fans have made the journey south
- Match is also live on Sky Sports
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Commentator has his say
Sky Sports commentator Don Goodman has been talking about tomorrow’s game and thinks it’ll be a close affair.
He said: “It’s an evenly matched contest between these two teams.
“I think if you look at Mansfield’s form from October to March, they played 18 games and won 14 of those.
“Nigel Clough has galvanised them after a very difficult start where they had lots of injuries.
“Nigel Clough said publicly once he got these players back from injury then the team would shoot back up the league and that’s exactly what has happened.
“The pressure is on at Mansfield, it’s a club with ambition and a club that has thrown money at it to get out of League Two.
“It hasn’t happened for them, so there’s a lot of pressure on them to deliver.
“Nigel Clough has built a really good team who finished the season strong which is always a good thing going into the playoffs.
“As for Port Vale, they suffered at the end of the season and suffered when Darrell Clarke had his personal bereavement.
“He was away from the football club for some time, and it shows the resolves, resilience and character of Darrell Clarke to drag himself back to the club because he recognised his team needed him to get that all important final day win.
“He’s guided them through the playoffs and his reappearance has galvanised his players which is understandable given the turmoil he’s been through.
“The Port Vale players will very much be playing for Darrell Clarke and it’s tough to call which way this game will go.
“If you were to force me into picking a favourite, then I would possibly go for Mansfield because of some of the experience they have at a higher level.
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