Stags boss Cox angry over ‘shove’ for Burton winner

Cox also felt the home side got away with a handball in the box which should have given Mansfield a penalty.

“I feel a bit gutted for the boys, they did everything but put the ball into the net,” he said.

“But I have got to question the referee’s performance tonight and the officials. The push at the back post for the goal was blatant as was the handball. It has left a sour taste in the mouth.

“It is the first time I have been threatened to be sent to the stand for smiling at the fourth official. I have never come up against officials like it in my life.

“It was an absolute joke. Some of the decisions were laughable. But that’s what happens when you’re on this sort of a run.

“We have just got to pick ourselves up. That’s all we can do.

“I thought we at least warranted a point tonight and we were the better side in the second half, though Burton had the lion’s share of possession in the first half.”

That now makes the current run five League defeats in a row and nine League games without a win for Mansfield.

But Cox said: “It happens. We’ve been on one before and we will be on one again. I don’t think some of our performances have warranted losing football matches. We deserved a point on Saturday and again tonight.

“You sometimes need a bit of luck. But with the work ethic we showed tonight we will win more games than we lose.

“It can be a very cruel game and you need to have broad shoulders sometimes when things are going wrong. We need to start to grind results out which we looked like we had done tonight.

“We didn’t make any mistakes and kept 11 men on the park. I feel for the lads.”