Mansfield Town boss David Flitcroft offers solidarity as rivals Notts County face winding-up order

David Flitcroft before the game at Meadow Lane just two weeks ago.

As worries grow over the future of neighbours Notts County, Mansfield Town boss David Flitcroft has every sympathy with his rivals’ plight and hopes they survive.

Already up for sale, Notts have now been issued with a winding up petition by HM Revenue and Customs, owing £200,000, after Magpies chairman Alan Hardy’s Paragon Interiors company went into administration.

Flitcroft, who had a taste of this when he was at Chester City, is now hoping the world’s oldest Football League club can pull through as they have done in the past.

“There are not many clubs that have gone to the wall,” he said.

“I was at Chester when they went into administration and it’s not a good place.

“We had a players’ pool clawing money for people. It was for the lads with new families that we clubbed together and got resource for them.

“Any company or club that might go into administration – there are lives at stake. People have mortgages to pay.”

Flitcroft said money worries were very real for players at the bottom end of the Football League as opposed to the Premier League’s multi-millionaires.

“You can say what you want about football, and we hear about astronomical, crazy figures at the top,” he said.

“But League Two and League One players earn an honest wage.

“There are general workmen out there that earn more money than that.

“And they have got mortgages to pay. So it could be difficult if the club go into administration.

“A lot of people could lose their jobs. You don’t want that in any walk of life, not just football.”

Flitcroft said that seeing County’s plight underlined how well Mansfield Town is currently being run by John and Carolyn Radford.

“We are lucky at Mansfield. We have phenomenal owners that have supported this club incredibly,” he said.

“We are in a good place. The next part of the plan is to try to create sustainability throughout the club from the academy and have a wave of players that are assets.

“A year ago there were not too many assets at the club but we are developing them daily.

“Hopefully over a period of time we will have a sustainable club from an absolute solid standpoint and that’s what we are all striving for.”