However, manager Nigel Clough cautioned the visitors that they would not be taken lightly.
Stags’ season reached new heights on Saturday with a magnificent 4-1 away local derby triumph against leaders Notts County, putting them in third place.
“It’s a long season, and we won’t get carried away in October because we haven’t even played a third of the games yet,” a happy Clough added.I really wish it was April. Saturday was a three-point win, and I know it meant a lot more to everyone since it was a Nottinghamshire derby.
“I think going 17 games unbeaten is a bigger accomplishment than just one off on Saturday.” You can have a one-time game, but you can’t do it more than 17 times.
“This is when the drawings come into play. We’ve drawn three games in a row and haven’t won, which isn’t ideal.
“However, when you win, you suddenly have six points from four games and remain unbeaten.”
“We’ve just had four tough games in a row, so to come out unscathed and unbeaten is a huge accomplishment.” The winning streak also includes victories at Hillsborough and Peterborough.
“We started on 4th August, so to still be unbeaten in all competitions by mid-October is a hell of an achievement so far.”
“We’ve been building for nearly three years, gradually improving along the way with better players and better performances,” he continued.
“They have suddenly struggled and are in the bottom few, but they are far better than their league position suggests.”
“It probably says a lot about the league’s strength that everybody can beat anybody.”
“With a player like Troy Deeney up front, Saturday is an extremely dangerous one for us.”
“After having a few different managers, I believe they have changed their style a little.” They’re mixing things up right now.
“It’s a high-risk game for us.” Everyone looks at the league table and sees third versus second from the bottom, thus it’s a home win. They’re the shaky ones.”
Baily Cargill, an ex-Forest Green defender, scored his first goal for Stags last weekend, but a fifth yellow card means he will miss the match against his former team.
“It isn’t perfect. We were split on whether to start him or Lewis Brunt on Saturday.
“They both performed admirably in training on Friday, but we decided to prioritize experience.”
“Baily popped up with his first goal but he got that yellow card, so Lewis Brunt just comes straight back in.”
Clough said of the triumph at Notts County, “It was a wonderful day for everybody, none more so than the supporters.” It was a fantastic atmosphere.
“First and foremost, the outcome was astounding.
“The game was strange in some ways because we haven’t come out of many games this season with only a third of the possession.”
“But when we had the ball, we hurt them with 21 shots, scored four goals, and limited Notts to just a few chances.”
“We needed different qualities on Saturday because of the caliber of the opposition.”
We had to be quite brave. Notts certainly got out to a fast start, and we threw behind a bad goal.
“After 10 minutes, we settled down, stopped them from playing, and started creating some chances.”
“And it was nice to get the goals, especially after not being able to hit a barn door the week before.” That’s how it always goes. You can have a few bad days.
“Most pleasing was our work rate – our running stats were through the roof.”
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