Into the Unknown: [Manager Review] Paul Cox

Tenure: 19th May 2011 – Present
Former Club: Eastwood Town FC
Competitive Games In Charge: 105 (W 58, D 24, L 23) [League, FA Cup, FA Trophy]
Coaching & Backroom Staff: Micky Moore (Assistant Manager 2011/12), Adam Murray (Player Assistant Manager 2012/Present), Andy Todd (Player Coach 2011/Present), Richard Cooper (First Team Coach 2012/Present), Paul Ogden (Chief Scout 2011/Present)
Win Percentage: 55.23%

Arguably the most successful Manager in the club’s history, or at least since the late Ian Greaves, Paul Cox has performed nothing short of a miracle in taking our beloved club back to the promise land of the football league.

The 41 year old has taken a club with a negative ethos and transformed it into a club which breeds success from top to bottom, putting in place a structure which could see local young players rise through the ranks and become professional footballers with their hometown club – an action which certainly suits his opening statement to the press that ‘success is built on strong foundations’.

Fate is often a funny thing, we dare not imagine where Stags would be had Cox been appointed the previous two times he applied for the job – the most notable when Billy McEwan was dismissed back in 2008, would he have been given a fair crack of the whip by the previous owners, personally we don’t think so – Paul Cox has been allowed to succeed because of the faith shown in him by John Radford.

Eventually Cox was handed the job just weeks after our defeat at Wembley and began the mammoth task of rebuilding the club after yet more heartbreak, however perhaps his toughest task was to reinstall the faith and love in the supporters who at that point were perhaps ready to walk away.

The first pre-season as we know was eventful and Cox’s patience was put to the test, he grabbed the headlines when he withdrew his players from the pitch at Ilkeston in that ill-fated pre-season friendly, you could see then what a passionate and caring manager he is.

Some fans may have to hold their hands up here and admit they didn’t buy into Cox’s philosophy as by mid-December it looked like another season wasted however post-Christmas it all changed as Stags embarked on that tremendous run which saw them finish in the playoffs. Defeat was hard to take and in some ways mistakes may have been made in trying to repair the damage and once again some fans may have to hold their hands up and admit they called for the former Eastwood man to be sacked, especially when we were getting battered in virtually every away game at the start of the season just gone.

Through all the turbulence there was only one person’s opinion that mattered, the Chairman John Radford – because of his faith Cox was allowed to continue and once again that post-Christmas magic began. Thirteen consecutive wins plus that FA Cup match with Liverpool will be remembered for a long time and the end result naturally not forgotten either – that title win totally epitomised Paul Cox’s management style: even when things are against you, you never give up.

During his tenure so far there have been mistakes whether it be with team selection or signings but nobody is perfect, what matters is results and that something the former Notts County defender certainly gets – League 2 will be a journey that will be taken together, we feel that more success is just around the corner so long as Cox is at the helm.

Written by Craig Priest and Emily Sykes.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the writers and not those of Mansfield Matters or its related organisations.