Owls boss to let players calm down before mass brawl inquest tomorrow

His Italian forward Fernando Forestieri was at the centre of things after a series of fouls on home players went unpunished in Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat.

Tempers flared before the final whistle with home manager David Flitcroft having to physically haul skipper Krystian Pearce off the field.

READ THE MATCH REPORTREAD STAGS BOSS DAVID FLITCROFT’S THOUGHTS ON THE BRAWLBut the final whistle saw the pitch erupt into a mass of fists and boots with stewards having to get involved to try to separate players.

“I did not see what the reason was or why it turned into an explosion,” he said.

“I will speak to my players about what happened tomorrow. It’s too emotional now tonight to speak about it. I will let them rest for now and speak tomorrow.

“I cannot see why any of them would be in any trouble. But I have not spoken to the referee or players so I can’t explain what happened.”

On the game, he added: “I though we had a good spirit for 20 minutes but then lost control.

“Mansfield came good, pressed us well, and scored a good goal.

“Mansfield have a very strong defence and did not give a lot of chances away, which is a compliment for our opponents’ defending as a team.”