No ‘After The Lord Mayor’s Show’ at Oldham Athletic warns Mansfield Town boss Graham Coughlan

After so many disappointments, Stags finally hit top gear and Coughlan is keen to avoid any 'After The Lord Mayor's Show' display at Boundary Park against fellow strugglers.

“Saturday was a high point so let's carry that on and not get into a habit of one day on and one day off. I want more of the same at Oldham,” he said.

“Sometimes in football you get an 'After The Lord Mayor's Show' and Oldham away is traditionally a really tough game – especially on a cold, wet Tuesday night.

“They have a fair size, good presence and they are a physical team.

“We may need to show a different side of our character there and a different skill set. It might have to be a fight.

“It might have to be rolling your sleeves up, weathering the storm and heading or kicking anything that comes into your box. It might be tin helmets and a battle rather than a spectacle.”

He continued: “They are in the same region of the league as ourselves so naturally they will be feeling the same as us about the season.

“They look very similar seasons and their manager would also probably use the word inconsistent.

“They will be looking for improvements and think they can take us tomorrow night. They have had some okay results recently while we were having bad results.

“But, given the weekend, we should be okay. We will leave no stone unturned in terms of our preparation.”

The Oldham game is the first of three in a row against fellow strugglers placed below them with Coughlan knowing the table could look a whole lot better within the next two weeks.

But he warned: “We are only looking at it one game at a time. I have said since we came in, let's crawl, walk then run.

“We need to build a foundation and get on a little run.

“Yes the table could look a hell of a lot different. But if they don't perform like we did on Saturday and get punished, all of a sudden, we can take a step back. It's fine margins in football.”

The win over Bradford gave Coughlan his first clean sheet in his eight games in charge

“I don't know if it was the best performance but it was certainly the best result. I think it had been coming,” he smiled.

“Performances had been good and we'd been getting a lot of plaudits and pats on the back – but results hadn't been coming.

“So it was nice to combine performance, result and clean sheet. We were chuffed with that.

“But, as I said on Saturday, one swallow does not make a summer and it's now a case of finding consistency.

“This football club has been inconsistent over the last 12 months. Now we've set those standards we have to maintain them.”

He added: “If anybody comes off it they will pay a price. Football does kick you where it hurts if you come off it. If you come off it by an inch, you lose miles.

“A lot of the onus is on the players, not me, showing why they are professional footballers. If I smell it or see it I will certainly stamp it out if they take a step back.”

Stags hope to complete at least one more signing ahead of Friday's January deadline, though he said: “If we can get another player in then great.

“If we don't it's not an issue. I won't lose any sleep. I will work with what I've got as they are working hard and buying into what we want.”