Mansfield Town are 17th in the League One table after their first five games.

Stags have played out a real mixed bag of results in their first fixtures of the 2026/27 League One season.

From a solid opener against Doncaster Rovers and a statement 5-2 win over promotion hopefuls Luton Town, to a humbling 5-0 defeat on the road to Reading.

Stags’ latest result was a 1-0 loss away to Bradford City, which brought a lot of frustration with it as Michael Smith’s equaliser was ruled offside.

Nigel Clough, the Mansfield Town manager looks on during the Vertu Trophy match between Mansfield Town and Manchester City U21 at the One Call Stadium on August 19, 2026 in Mansfield, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

placeholder image — Nigel Clough, the Mansfield Town manager looks on during the Vertu Trophy match between Mansfield Town and Manchester City U21 at the One Call Stadium on August 19, 2026 in Mansfield, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Speaking during his mid-week press conference, Nigel Clough reflected on a ‘topsy-turvy start’ to Mansfield’s season.

“We should have had more than three points from the last three games,” the manager said. “We had three very different experiences, certainly the euphoria of Luton and then heading into Reading with confidence where a lot of things conspired against us.

“It looked as though it was a drubbing, but it wasn’t. Then we’ve got Bradford – I thought we battled unbelievably well on Saturday. I thought we started the game well and played some good stuff but conceded a poor goal again. That’s the thing and once again it’s been a feature for the last 8-10 weeks.

“We scored what we thought was a perfectly good goal in the second half and we should have got a point. And the one we didn’t talk about was a blatant penalty four minutes into the game on Michael Smith, where the lad has whacked him on the back of the heel and the referee is 10 or 15 yards away and doesn’t see it.

“I think all the key decisions in games at the moment are going against us and that has certainly contributed to the last two results.”

Mansfield Town have a tough opponent coming up in the form of Huddersfield Town this weekend. After their dominant display against Luton at home, fans will hope the One Call Stadium is alive again with home goals to celebrate, as Stags have show they can wound those who may be favoured on paper.

Huddersfield are currently second in the table and are just one of two clubs to still be unbeaten at this stage. Notts County are the others yet to register a loss after a win and four draws so far.

“We know we aren’t too far away, we saw that against Luton and how good we were,” Clough continued. “We’ve seen it in spells in the away games and it’s much tougher to play that way away from home.

“It’s been a topsy-turvy start to the season.”