Nigel Clough eyes the rewards of FA Cup progress for Mansfield Town

Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough is dreaming of a lucrative FA Cup run this season.
Nigel Clough is up for the cup. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)Nigel Clough is up for the cup. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Nigel Clough is up for the cup. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Stags travel to Cheltenham on Sunday in the third round with a further £41,000 in prize money up for grabs.

But Clough knows only too well the potential financial rewards and glamour available if Mansfield make the fourth round for the first time in 13 seasons.

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“It would be nice to make the fourth round,” he said. “You are not making any money from the gates, but if you can get a tv game it will make a few quid and that is the aim.

“It will help with the transfer window as well.

“The FA Cup incentive is there for lower league players. For Premier League players the league takes priority, so maybe it is not as important for them.

“This is a special cup and it means a lot to lower league clubs. I will have an extra bit of excitement before the game.

“What can the FA Cup bring you if you get through? That is the excitement of the FA Cup.”

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Stags go into the game in fine form having won their last three matches.

And for Clough it will also be a good indicator of where his side are currently at.

“It is a measure of where we are at,” he added. “We are judging the squad on every game to get where we need to be in six months time to build a promotion squad.

“We hope the momentum is building now. We think it’s been coming in the last few months when we have got a result or two and we just need to keep our foot on the gas now.

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“Cheltenham are a team up there challenging for promotion, so it will be a tough one, We just wish we were at home.

“We will go there with our strongest possible team and do all we can to win the game.”

Visit www.chad.co.uk for full post-match reaction to Cheltenham v Stags.