Veteran Mansfield Town star Stephen Quinn happy for Stags to stay under the radar in League One

“The main target is to stay in League One,” he said.

“This club hasn't been in this league for such a long time, but we've carried on momentum.

“We don't look at our league position too much now, but we've got a great bunch of lads who never get carried away, and we're just picking off games as we go.

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“The players don't get big headed, we're just a tight core.

“We'll never get giddy because the gaffer won't allow us to.

“We'll just probably stay under the radar, and we've just got to cement ourselves in this league again.”

Quinn believes the momentum of last season's promotion has helped Stags enjoy a good start to life in League One, saying: “For sure,our promotion last season has been used as a catalyst.

“You just want to gain traction and momentum as you go.

“Wrexham and Stockport County are up there and we're the three teams that came up.

“There's a good vibe around the building and we have retained a lot of the players that we had last year, so they know what the manager expects.

“They know what the manager demands, and we've added some real quality in the likes of Will Evans and Lee Gregory up top, who have hit the ground running and scoring goals.

“Gregory knows this league and the Championship well, so for those two to get started how they have done and getting those goals has been massive to us. “We're carrying on from last year and the confidence is still high.

“There's a real buzz around the area, a real buzz around the stadium and the club.”

He added: “The younger players coped well themselves with the pressure last season.

“We've got a confident group, without being overly confident or erring on the side of arrogance. The lads are genuinely down to earth.

“The gaffer attracts these sorts of lads, not just players, but these lads that come in who buy into everything, who are good lads that want to work.

“Ultimately, they work hard and are technically good.

“I've been with the gaffer for seven years. Lucas Akins and I, we know how he works, we know what he commands from us.

“Every day in training, I just try and do what I must do, which is what I've done all through my career – train hard, set standards and constantly being at it every day.

“I've been taught throughout my career, you train how you play, you can't drop the standards.

“You've got to maintain the standards on the training pitch and around the place. I'm hoping that young players coming through can see that and look up to it.”

Quinn had nothing but praise for boss Nigel Clough.

“It's been brilliant working under him,” he said.

“ I've been with the gaffer now probably seven years since I went to Burton Albion with him.

“I had a difficult time at Reading with injuries and it looked like I was coming to the end of my career with a knee injury, but if there was ever a manager I needed to bump into at that time, it was Nigel.

“His man-management skills are brilliant.

“If you ask any player who's come across him, he's great on the human side.

“If any of the lads have any problems family wise, he's very family-orientated, and he'll give time off when needed.

“Playing over the last seven years with the gaffer, he loves to get the ball down, he's a real football man, coming from a football family.

“He's got a great eye for the game. With Burton, we evolved as a team, he made semi-finals of Carabao Cups, and we made Play-Off finals.

“As football moves on, he evolves, and he always brings good teams and squads together.”

Quinn elected to play on for another season at the age of 38 and said: “Physically I feel fine.

“There was a question mark whether I would continue in the summer having got promotion and coming towards the end of my career.

“I wondered whether I could play on or not, but I love my time here at Mansfield.

“The fans have been great with me and the gaffer has stood by me.

“Big teams came down into League One – the likes of Huddersfield Town, Rotherham United, Birmingham City – and there's a lot of ex-Premier League teams in the league.

“I've played a lot of games already this season and I'm happy to lend a hand and my experience to the younger lads in the squad, and we've had a really good start to the season.”