Praise for young Stags quartet

Mansfield Town assistant boss Ben Futcher paid tribute to the quartet of U21s promoted to the first team squad for the week-long training camp in Portugal.

Strikers Jordan Graham and Nyle Blake along with defenders Henri Wilder and Lewis Gibbens were all given 45 minutes in the 1-0 friendly defeat by Vitoria De Setubal.

“We had the U21s out there for the start of the week and that was a massive boost for them,” said Futcher.

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“They were around the first team lads, they were eating with them and training with them.

“It was great to have them involved. Them being around the first team squad and training with them is something we always like to do.”

On the quartet who played, he said: “All four of them played 45 minutes in the game and they’ve gone from being nowhere near the first team to playing in the 11.

“They all did well and no one let themselves down.

“It’s a massive learning curve for them and it’s been a fantastic trip for them.

“The fact that they’ve been around the lads all week and socialised with them has been a really good exercise.”