Putting Mansfield Town on map and why Paul Cox refused to blame Suarez for defeat when Stags last hosted a Premier League giant

Millions of viewers around the globe will be glued to the tv screen as Stags kick-off their unlikely bid to dump Premier League leaders Arsenal out of the FA Cup.

It will be the first time ever that Stags have hosted the 13-time champions of England and.their first meeting since the Londoners knocked Mansfield out of the competition back in January 1929.

On the face of it, dethroning a star-studded Arsenal, who have lifted the world famous trophy a record 14 times, is a somewhat daunting proposition.

It's been a little over 13 years now since Stags faced a similar task when a Liverpool side featuring the likes of Jamie Carragher, Jordan Henderson and Luis Suarez came to town to contest an FA Cup third round tie.

But, despite the huge gulf in class that day, Stags rose to the occasion and showed the pluck expected of non-league minnows to push the Merseysiders all the way.

“When we drew Liverpool the phones exploded,” recalls Mansfield’s manager at the time, Paul Cox.

“It was an unbelievably huge game for us. The build up to the game was amazing in every capacity and the media spotlight felt like you were living in a goldfish bowl

“The game put Mansfield back on the map and really kickstarted the boys again I’m honest. We were something like tenth in the league at that point and weren't pulling up any trees for promotion.

“Building up to the game, there was a concentration amongst the players and I think a belief that we could maybe go and compete.”

The hosts got off to the worst possible start when Dean Sturridge put Liverpool in front after just seven minutes with Stags somewhat akin to rabbits caught in the headlights.

“We said if we sat off them and let them play they would destroy us, and I think that’s what they did in the first 20 minutes,” reflected Cox.

“I thought we gave them too much respect in the first half hour at least.

“At half-time I tried to get across to the lads that, if we implemented the tactics that we had worked on, we could give them a game.”

Those stirring words saw Mansfield come out all guns blazing after half-time and take the game to their illustrious opponents.

But the wind was firmly taken out of their sails when Luis Suarez infamously doubled Liverpool’s lead on 59 minutes with a blatant handball.

Yet, perhaps surprisingly, Cox has never held a grudge against the superstar striker for his actions, considering it to be just part of the game.

“Everyone knew we gave it a really good go in the second half,” added Cox. “We gave a really good Liverpool side a run for their money.

“The second goal could have deflated us in a way. I remember the world’s press waiting for me to hammer Suarez, but I remember telling them it was what forwards should do.

“It was a handball, but the referee or linesman should have seen it, the whole world saw it - but you can't blame Suarez for doing what he did and putting the ball in the net.

“I thought we deserved to get a replay, which would have been fantastic for the club, the chairman and Carolyn (Radford), more importantly for the supporters going up to Anfield. What an experience that would have been.

“But it wasn’t to be, it is my story now. Suarez wrote a paragraph about me in his autobiography thanking me for not hanging him out to try. I gave an honest assessment of him and didn’t want to be too damning of him. If that had been Matt Green I would have expected him to do the right thing. It’s up to the ref to make the decision.

“He gets a lot of stick but he has played for the world’s big clubs and played in World Cups. That is a lasting memory for me from one of the greats.”

Stags would go on to valiantly lose the contest 2-1 after Matt Green pulled one back late on to leave Liverpool nervously awaiting the final whistle.