Marek Stech says Mansfield Town deserve to be a League One club

The former Luton Town keeper joined Stags in a two-year deal in the summer and is determined to add another promotion to his CV.

The 6ft 5 in Czech was a key man in the Hatters’ promotion in the 2017/18 season after he kept 15 clean sheets in 42 appearances.

“This is a League One/Championship club and this club deserves something more and not to be League Two,” he said.

The boss showed me around, told me what he wants to achieve and where the club should be and that was really key for me in joining.

“It is an absolutely magnificent training ground, the stadium is lovely and it is a great set-up.

“We have got six weeks to prepare for the best and I'm really looking forward to it and I am up for the challenge.

“My targets are always high, I want to stay fit and play every game. I want to be the best I can every day,

“The target is to go up, that is the main target for me and the reason why I have come to the club.,

“We deserve more than mid table. Mansfield have been unlucky for the last three years, so hopefully we have the players that are good enough this season to get promoted.”

The move comes seven months after Mansfield tried to sign Stech on loan in the January transfer window.

“Mansfield wanted to take me on loan in January but one of our keepers got injured so I couldn’t go,” he added.

“I wanted to come here in January, so I am glad to be here now. It is a really nice environment to work in which makes it a nice place to be.

“When I come to Mansfield the fans always make it a difficult place to play so I'm really looking forward to playing with Mansfild and having them on my side.

But Stech faces a bit of a wait before he gets to perform in front of the fans with the League Two season set to kick off behind closed doors.

“It is a big difference without fans, I have seen how it was played with no fans in Czeh and then now with fans being back,” he said.

“Hopefully by the end of September/first week of October we will have fans.

“I would love to see fans at the football, we play for the fans. The club and the fans are most important.

“When they are not there you have to motivate yourself and each other.

“It will be similar to pre-season games behind closed doors, so this is a test and we will prepare for no fans so when we have the first game we will not be surprised.

“We would love to see them there as soon as possible. At the moment we just have to prepare and be sensible, we are all in the same boat.”