Nigel Clough says Mansfield Town can learn lessons from slump in form

Mansfield Town made it five wins in a row at Southend before slumping to no wins in their next five games (Photo by Jacques Feeney/Getty Images)

Stags are without a win in five having previously won five on the spin.

And, although happy with his team’s points tally over the course of the ten matches, Clough says it highlights the importance of consistency and not making mistakes.

“Nobody means to make mistakes but the goal we conceded at Harrogate was criminal,” he said.

“We can't afford that too many times over a season if we are to challenge (next year), so that has been one of the big lessons to learn over the last week.

“Against Bolton we were 2-0 up with 11 minutes to go. There wasn't much we could do about the first two goals, but don't concede the third goal. We would still have been distraught, but at least we wouldn’t have lost.

“We could have had two more draws easily, that is the lesson - don't lose games from the positions we’ve been in.

“You can soon climb the table with draws here and there because points add up.

“Even when you're not playing well, a 0-0 at Harrogate is another point on the board, another game without defeat and something to build on.

“It is the defeats that really hit the confidence.”

Clough is also taking heart out of the bigger picture as he looks to put the building blocks in place for a successful promotion push next season.

“We know we are not too far away,” he said. “The results have dipped alarmingly for whatever reason, but the performances haven't. The performances have still not been too bad.

“This is just one of those things. It has evened itself out over the last ten games.

“I hope over the next ten games we can have a similar run, we would take five wins from the next ten.

“You have to look at the bigger picture. It seems to be throughout football at the moment that you win a load and then lose a load.

“Games are coming so thick and fast you can suddenly lose three games in six days.

“We know that we can be good, but we know we are capable of giving away silly goals and conceding defeats and we shouldn't be.

“I didn't see it coming to this degree.We didn't want to go five without a win, but we know how fragile confidence can be in football

“You never know what is coming around the corner in football.”