Palmer hoping goal will keep his Stags place at Luton

Palmer has struggled to win a regular place this season and was only in on Tuesday with last weekend’s man of the match, loanee Vadaine Oliver, unable to play to avoid becoming cup-tied. However, Oliver is back in the squad for tomorrow.

Palmer said: “It was a hard-fought game on Tuesday. The pitch wasn’t the best, obviously it was raining and conditions weren’t the best. So to grind out a 1-0 result was acceptable on the night.

“Credit to Concord. They made it really hard for us.

“It felt good to get the winner. I am always working on my game and if the manager wants me to play a certain way that’s what I’ve got to do.

“I want to work hard and do what it takes to make the starting XI and score goals.”

It has been a crazy week for the players with manager Paul Cox stepping down out of the blue on Friday evening and Adam Murray taking over as caretaker.

“We have been managed well this week. He has helped us focus on the task ahead,” said Palmer.

“We found out on Friday and we got a text through to confirm it from Paul Cox himself. It’s one of those things, but I will be forever grateful that he gave me my opportunity to be a professional footballer.”

Palmer is under no illusions how hard it will be at Kenilworth Road.

“I should be a good day,” he said. “They have only conceded 12 all season and are flying high in the league. It will be a tough game and it will be good to see where we are at.

“We need to try to put a run of games together which would be fantastic. If we can do well on Saturday and take that into the cup game it should be a great few weeks.”