Boss Clough warning as title-chasing Mansfield Town prepare for visit of in-form Salford City

Stags hit 13 goals in two games before Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Walsall where they did more than enough to take three points but missed chances and gave away two goals from set pieces which saw Clough's men miss out on the chance to overtake leaders Stockport County at the top.

“We need to keep our heads, stay composed and not give goals away like we did on Saturday,” said Clough.

“We can't afford that. As good as we are going forwards and scoring goals, there will be times like on Saturday where we only get the one, and it has to be enough to get us a result.

“Otherwise we just need to keep doing what we've been doing for the previous 32 games – that's the good thing. We don't have to do anything different.

“We've played this way for six months and got the results we have got.

“It's just a case of keeping on going and not conceding soft goals, which cost us the game at Walsall.

“It is very difficult for teams to change their form of five or six months if they need to. We don't need to. If we stay on the same level we've been at and win the same percentage of games we will be fine.

“We've only lost four league games, all by the odd goal, and there is a fair argument to say we should have had something from all of those games. So no one has given us a hiding so far this season. We have been very competitive in every game.”

He added: “Salford are in good form and, being at home, I am sure everyone will be a bit nervy with the position we are in. We have to get over that and that is where the character of our players comes in.

“We have some good experienced players within the group who have been in this situation before, so we hope they will be key.

“It's not about fitness now. The majority of players who have played for five or six months, there's nothing more we can do. It's all about keeping them mentally fresh as much as physically.”

Saturday's visiting perennial under-achievers are suddenly on a roll but look to have left their play-off push too late.

They are currently eight games unbeaten with four wins and four draws, last weekend beating high-flying Barrow 5-3.

They sit 19th, nine points off the play-offs with 13 games to go.

Karl Robinson took over as manager from Neil Wood at the turn of the year and Clough said: “Since Karl has gone in, their form has picked up incredibly.

“He has got them playing forward, creating chances and scoring goals.

“When you're 2-1 down at home to a team as defensively solid as Barrow and end up winning 5-3 it says an awful lot about how they are playing at the moment.

“In this league it's often about which point in the season you play teams and we seem to be copping for people at the moment that are in good form.

“Salford were very much possession-based before and are now, I don't like to use the word direct, but they play forward more and creating chances. They have good forward players and are making use of them.

“Your season is never over and Karl will be wanting to get as many points as he can.

“I think generally they will be looking towards next season, but you don't rule a team like Salford out with the attacking options they have got.”

With a small away following for Salford City this coming Saturday, Stags fans will again be allowed in the North Stand.

A total of 577 home tickets in blocks A and B of the North Stand are on sale.

The move comes following a remarkable rise in home attendances, which has led to an average crowd of 7,356 at One Call Stadium so far this season.

The club is endeavouring to maximise the capacity of One Call Stadium for Stags’ supporters as part of its ambitions to continue to increase revenue and maximise the support as Stags chase promotion.