Nigel Clough celebrates six years as Mansfield Town manager
On this day six years ago, Nigel Clough arrived at the One Call Stadium as the new manager of Mansfield Town.
At the time of his appointment, Stags were struggling near the bottom of League Two and concerns over slipping back into the depths of non-league football were rising. Now, the club are looking towards their next major milestone in an era of continuous improvement.
Clough was brought in to hoist Mansfield out of their rut, with his success at Burton Albion at the forefront of John and Carolyn Radford’s minds.
The gaffer spent two decorated stints with the Brewers, providing them with the foundations to break into the Football League, before returning years later to guide them into the Championship.
Praising his impressive pedigree as a manager – which followed a successful playing career – the Radfords put their faith in Nigel Clough and he has not let them down since.
After replacing Graham Coughlan on 6 November 2020, Clough ensured Stags survived the season comfortably and then got stuck into a promotion pursuit immediately after.
Mansfield Town lost the 2021/22 play-off final and fell agonisingly short of the top seven the following season by a single goal. Then, 2024 was finally their year.
A third-place finish meant automatic promotion and a return to League One for the first time in more than 20 years. Since then, Stags have not looked back.
They survived their first season back in England’s third tier by finishing 17th, eight points clear of the bottom four. Then, the 2025/26 surpassed expectations as Mansfield Town recorded their highest league finish since 1987.
An impressive run of form towards the end of the season – encouraged by their stunning efforts in the FA Cup – saw Stags lose just once in 15 to finish tenth at the close of the campaign.
Mansfield Town have improved year on year under Nigel Clough and their progression has allowed them to sign top quality players. No one knows what the next step is for Stags at the moment but the players certainly back the idea of challenging to be in and around the top six, which is a clear indication of the confident in Clough’s ability to keep pushing them higher and higher.
Clough’s impressive chapter with Mansfield Town makes him the longest-serving active manager in the EFL. No other manager in their current tenure across the Championship, League One and League Two has served a club for longer than Clough with his Stags.