Mansfield Town manager Nigel Clough has admitted it is ‘difficult to stop’ their poor run of form ahead of what could be a crucial encounter with Burton Albion on Saturday.
The Stags recent form has seen them dragged into the relegation conversation in League One. Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Wrexham was their ninth loss in 10 games, whilst their last victory came on January 4th against Stockport County.
This has seen the Nottinghamshire-based side fall to 16th and are currently just six points above the bottom four. The team currently occupying that 21st position is Burton, who will play hosts to Clough’s team this weekend.
The Brewers have recently seen a vast improvement in their results, losing just one of their last nine league outings. They have also won their last two against Lincoln City and Stevenage and three points on Saturday could see them move out of the relegation places for the first time since September.
Clough Hoping To Catch A Break
Clough is well versed with Burton having managed nearly 1000 games for the club over two spells. Another loss would see the gap between the two teams close to just three points, but the 58-year-old admits that their current barren run is tough to stop. Speaking to Mansfield & Ashfield Chad, he said:
“It’s like a runaway train – it is difficult to stop once you get into this. And it is all through football – it is all so fragile, which I said when we had just won four out of five.
“Manchester City are fragile at the moment from having been incredible. The best manager in the world is struggling to stop that fragility. He has some of the best players in the world.
“Luton were battling away in the Premier League last season and were fantastic. They can’t win a game in the Championship now to save their lives.
“Middlesbrough were in the play-offs and have now lost five on the spin. It’s the same down the road at Derby. It is very difficult to reverse.
“We have to just keep working at it and stick to our principles as everything that we were doing earlier in the season we are still doing. It wasn’t wrong then and it’s not wrong now.
“Everyone has just got to give a little bit more and try to get a break.”
Writer’s View
It’s been a real struggle for Mansfield in recent months. They have had to deal with a number of key injuries which haven’t helped their cause, but a change in fortunes is needed. Burton is a huge game but Clough can take heart from their last performance, where they were arguably unlucky to lose against Wrexham.
