Nigel Clough: Cardiff City thriller a 'fitting end' to whirlwind season as Mansfield Town in 'good position'
Nigel Clough says Mansfield Town are in a ‘good position’ right now as a club as they look ahead to the summer transfer window and beyond.
Stags cemented a milestone League One finish on Saturday afternoon following a dramatic 5-4 win over promoted Cardiff City. The three points take Stags up to tenth in the table – their highest finish in the football pyramid since 1987.
Nigel Clough believes the nine-goal thriller at the One Call Stadium was a ‘fitting way’ to see out what has been a rollercoaster season for Mansfield Town.
After battling hard to crack the 50-point mark to secure their safety from relegation, Stags have lost just once in their last 15 games. Their solid run of form allowed them to continue to climb the table and clinch a top ten finish on the final day of the season.
“I think it was a fitting way to end the season – an exceptional game. A 5-4 scoreline doesn’t happen very often. It just caps off a wonderful season,” Clough said after his side’s emphatic win.
“The 65 points is a huge total – an 11-point improvement from last year. Tenth place in the league and one defeat in 15, which is the most important. It’s not been over the space of a few weeks either, it’s been about three months now, and even the little spell where we lost three on the spin including Lincoln at home, it was still pretty consistent with our performances.
“A couple of different results earlier in the season… you never know where we could have been.”
After fighting hard to avoid the drop last season, Clough reflected on the growth of this Stags side in a short space of time. Mansfield Town have earned an historic season finish and also enjoyed a superb run in the FA Cup, which saw them defeat Sheffield United, Burnley, and go toe-to-toe with Arsenal.
“The last three years especially – the promotion season and then survival last year was absolutely vital, we just made it. Then this season we’ve improved which is what we set out to do. We had the Cup run… I think the club is in a good position at the moment.”