Stags hoping to have Lambe for Carlisle clash

Mansfield Town are hoping to have international clearance in time to add new signing Reggie Lambe to their squad for Saturday’s home clash with bottom club Carlisle United.

But, although chairman John Radford has given the green light for two new players, first team coach Micky Moore said there was no rush to bring in the second player until they were sure they had the right man, who will be a left-sided player.

“There is no time frame,” he said. “We will bring in a player when the time is right.

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“The manager had a meeting with the chairman on Monday and he gave him backing to bring in two players, and we are very grateful for him allowing us to do that.

“We have had a number of trialists in and watched a lot of games and we have earmarked a number of potential players.

“But they have got to be a good player and a good person to come into our environment. We are just doing our due diligence to make sure that’s right.

“Losing Amari’i Bell, when Birmingham called him back in the first week, and then Sam Clucas means we are short on left-sided players and we need to bring someone in to get that balance. He could be a left wing back or a left winger.

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“With Rob Taylor ill, Lee Beevers has gone in there and has been excellent. He may seem like a square peg in a round hole but he’s comfortable playing there.”

Stags are trying to sort international clearance for Lambe from Swedish Division One side Nyköpings BIS.

Moore said: “We don’t anticipate any hiccups. We think we can get over the line and we’d be disappointed if we didn’t. We hope over the next 24 hours it will be done and dusted.

“We had Reggie here on trial and saw him in a couple of games. He was highlighted as one who could definitely add something to us.

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“He has played in the MLS and is a Bermuda international. He is a good player and adds something different to us that we’ve not got. We are looking forward to working with him.”

On Saturday, Stags will look to build on their midweek 1-0 win over Morecambe with the visit of bottom club Carlisle, who could appoint ex-Stags boss Keith Curle as their new manager before the weekend.

“Carlisle came down last year and are now looking for a new manager,” said Moore.

“They had their player-manager sent off on Tuesday and we have had reports they lost 1-0 but played quite well.

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“This will be a different test. You look at the table and they are bottom but they are a big club with a big fan base and I don’t anticipate them being there at the end of the season, so it will be a big test for us.

“Every game is different and we have to be prepared and right for it.

“It was a big win on Tuesday. We should have had at least a draw on Saturday and, on chances, we deserved to win it on Tuesday. The late winner was good timing and we got the three points.”

Stags’ goal hero was summer signing Alex Fisher who bagged the last minute header.

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“Alex came in pre-season and set the world alight with a few goals. Since then he has worked hard in training and that goal will have done his confidence a world of good,” said Moore.

“Most teams come here with a game plan which I think is a sign of respect of what we have done.

“Morecambe would have been quite happy to take a point. It shows how far we have come and what teams think of us.

“Hopefully on Saturday we can get back-to-back home wins again like we did against Oxford and Newport in front of our own supporters and then kick on from there.

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“With three points we could be in the play-off places so let’s win on Saturday and see where it takes us. It is still early season yet. But we are playing well and the lads are still gelling. There has been a big overhaul of players here.

“They are enjoying working with each other and starting to get to know each other. Tuesday was only Rakish Bingham’s third game and he is getting chances. He is only going to get better.”

Although Stags do have a few knocks and bruises from midweek, all could be fit apart from John Dempster and Luke Jones, who are both seven to 10 days away from even returning to training, Moore adding it was still too early to guess when they would be back playing.

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