Oshilaja hopes for more Boxing Day joy as Mansfield head to Barnsley

Stags won 3-0 at Peterborough United in 2024 and will hit the road again this year, aiming to bounce back from last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at home to Stockport County.

And the defender hopes some much-needed Christmas cheer will come his side’s way at a place where he made his debut for the club at the start of last season.

He said: “Having won 3-0 on Boxing Day last season another result like that would be fantastic.

"We all know how we need to play and we’ll be going through Saturday’s game again and watching Barnsley as well, so we’ll be ready for that.

"It was my first league game there for Mansfield and we had a great win and a great performance, so hopefully we can replicate that. They’re a top team with some great players but the focus will be on us, we’ll go there to implement our game and do the best we can and put on a good showing for the fans."

Oshilaja says the busy Christmas period is something players enjoy rather than dread, and that it’s part and parcel of being a footballer.

He said: “It’s pretty good and I’m pretty used to it. The games come thick and fast so you don’t get that much time with training, but the boys like playing and I think if you ask any player they like to keep playing games, especially having just had a setback, so we’re just looking forward to the next one so we can obviously put that right.”

Reflecting on Saturday’s defeat to Stockport, Oshilaja says he felt Stags deserved more from the game.

He said: “I thought we performed well and the result is very disappointing. I didn’t expect us to lose with the way we played and the way we started but that’s football sometimes and that’s just where we are at the moment, so it’s something we need to come out of.

"Stockport are a top side and are always up there so credit to them, but on our day we can compete with anyone. We have a lot of injuries at the moment but we’re still able to perform like that.”

Oshilaja also explained how he is progressing having missed the start of the season with a groin injury.

He added: “I’m feeling a lot better and getting stronger every game. I’ve played quite a few games since I’ve been back so that’s a positive. This is my aim now, just to stay fit and help the team climb as high as possible.

"It’s very frustrating [being unable to play], I’m not someone who likes the treatment room at all and I tried to be as positive as possible, but we had a lot of new players as well so I was obviously excited to get involved with them and had to wait a bit.

"But now I’m back fit and everyone else is injured so hopefully we can get them back fit as soon as possible. I think I’ve had some very good games since coming back and some where I could do a lot better, it’s just a matter of keeping that consistency. I’m playing every game now so that’s a positive for me, and I’m injury free so that’s the aim at the moment.”