Stags to decide on young striker's future in pre-season

But Clough said plans for Knowles next season will be formulated on what they see from the 19-year-old in pre-season.

“We were in touch with the old manager, Neal Ardley, and Greg Abbott, and I have spoken to the new manager since he's come in,” said Clough.

“It's great that Jimmy's got on and he's playing and he scored a hat-trick which will do wonders for his confidence.

“We had a good chat in January about whether we thought it was right to bring him back or not but we honestly thought for his development it was best to leave him there.

“They said he would get some game time, he is getting that and we are looking forward to seeing him pre-season.”

Clough continued: “Everybody will come back pre-season, all the young players, everyone will be together and we will assess things from there.

“We can go and watch him in the Conference when he comes on but pre-season is the one. Let's see if he's grown, got stronger, playing confidence football.

“Then we will assess him over the five weeks and see if he's going to be part of the first team squad or does he need to go back out on loan. We will see what the best path is for him from there.”