Clough Expresses Resilience Amidst Mansfield’s Five-Game Losing Streak

Mansfield Town manager Nigel Clough, who has led the team since November 2020, stated that his squad will avoid becoming “too down” regarding their current five-game losing streak and intends to persist in attempting to “play” their way out of this period. On Saturday, The Stags suffered a 2-1 home defeat against Huddersfield, a team experiencing a resurgence. This victory marked Huddersfield’s fourth consecutive win, solidifying their position in the early League One promotion race. This outcome came after earlier losses, including a 3-1 defeat to last season’s play-off finalists Bolton, which Clough characterized as “three points thrown away.” Additionally, the team had lost 1-0 to league leaders Wycombe, second-placed Wrexham, and Bristol Rovers. This series of results was preceded by a 1-1 draw at home against Birmingham City, who are currently in third place. Speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham, Clough stated, “We played three ex-Premier League sides and we’ve been so close and just come out on the wrong end of things.” He added, “They’ve just got to keep believing and keep going – it’s the realities of us being in League One.” Mansfield had harbored hopes of halting their losing streak when Adedeji Oshilaja equalized Ben Wiles’ early goal for the Terriers. However, Josh Koroma restored the visitors’ lead just two minutes afterward. The match took place amidst Storm Daragh, with Clough characterizing the conditions as “horrific.” Nevertheless, he commended both teams for delivering “good quality play throughout the game.” He commented, “I thought the general performance was very good.” Clough expressed, “[I’m] disappointed in the two goals we conceded – especially the second after we got back on level terms but it was a quality finish.” He continued, “I must sound like a broken record and people must get fed up of me saying the same things. I thought the effort we put in and the way we tried to play was spot on – and we’ll keeping doing it.” Clough concluded, “They can’t do any more. It’s always the little things. They can’t give any more.” Despite their recent defeat, The Stags maintain their 10th position, six points adrift of the top six. However, they hold two games in hand over Lincoln and Barnsley, who are directly above them in the standings. Currently, Clough is not overly worried about their prolonged wait for a victory, which dates back to October. He remarked, “The defeats have been against first in the league, second in the league, Bolton, Huddersfield – the biggest disappointment was losing to Bristol Rovers.” Clough added, “We’ve lost five on the spin. Yeah, we are down about it but not getting too down and feeling sorry for ourselves – we’re going to keep playing.” He concluded, “It [wins] will come. It will change. It has to. As long as we keep doing the things we’re doing and just improve on the little moments in games that are going against us.”