Craig Priest & Emily Sykes write... Tomorrow’s game certainly can’t come quick enough for us, as it’s easy to forget what part of the season we are actually at due to the weather – looking out the window you would think it was mid November, early December – alas not, there are nine games to go and the title race is still firmly on! The irritating weather has somewhat haltered our progress and explosion-esc form which has seen Paul Cox’s men grab nine wins from as many games. Since our last fixture at Forest Green the Stags have had a ten day rest and have endured a frustrating two postponements due to the weather, tomorrow’s game is not concrete that it will be on however with the phenomenal help of volunteers from both the terraces and the RAF tomorrow’s crunch game against relegation fighting Nuneaton should go ahead as planned – great news as Stags realistically can’t afford another postponement. With nine games to go and no sign of help from the Conference one more postponement would potentially put Mansfield into the same boat as Newport, Justin Edinburgh’s men are realistically putting in three-four game weeks from here on in which in our view at least is why the welsh club will drop off the pace. Fortunately we are blessed with a strong squad packed full of hungry players which should be enough to see us through to the end and hopefully over the finish line. Over the last ten or so days we have kept a close eye on our rivals in our opinion Kidderminster are getting the rub of the green by snatching late and lucky goals which ultimately is putting the points on the board, Stags will have to ensure that they pick up where they left off to keep up with Kidderminster. It will go all the way and in fairness either side could win it, once again it boils down to mindset as well as natural ability. With our game against Macclesfield postponed tomorrow night’s fixture with Nuneaton works out as a game in hand on Wrexham, so the importance of winning it and putting a little bit of distance between ourselves and those chasing is huge. Despite being at the wrong end of the table Nuneaton are a good footballing side that are on a semi decent run, with one defeat in the last eight games which includes a draw with Luton and a victory over Grimsby. Former Stags assistant Micky Moore is currently number two at Nuneaton and will know exactly know what to expect from a Paul Cox side at this stage of the season. Fingers crossed the boys can do the business and put another three points on the board, making sure the ice doesn't trip us up at this critical stage. LAST TIME WE MET These two have only met once in league action throughout history, that game coming earlier in the season as Nick Wright grabbed his first Stags goal to cancel out Connor Taylor’s opener back in early November. The sides did meet in a pre-season friendly at the beginning of last term when Nuneaton won 2-1, that too being at Nuneaton’s ground and as such, tomorrow will be the first ever meeting between the pair at the One Call Stadium. TEAM NEWS Despite what seems as a lifetime since our last fixture, Paul Cox has a fully fit and fresh squad. Assistant boss and Captain Adam Murray could miss out however after suffering a light clip to the ankle during the last few intense training sessions. Long term lay-offs Ross Dyer and Jake Speight will again be missing. MATCH COVERAGE As Stags return to action Craig will have regular updates throughout the evening, if you’re not going then be sure to listen to Takeover Radio 106.9FM and our MM-LIVE Page to ensure you don’t miss any of the twists and turns in the gripping promotion story.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the writers and not those of Mansfield Matters or its related organisations – To submit a blog, email mtfcmatters@gmail.com
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