Nigel Clough frustrated by Mansfield Town's failure to have already guaranteed survival

The Stags gaffer wants to see his men hit the 50 point mark to end any lingering doubts over an unlikely relegation.

“It is very frustrating to have dropped so many late points in the recent run of games,” he said.

“Without the late points dropped, since Bolton, we would be over the 50 point mark.

“Any lingering doubts anyone has got would be gone. We want to dispel theM as soon as we can.

“It would be nice to get to 50 points, but even with nine games to go and an 11 point gap, it means teams have to win four out of their last nine to make us play again.

“We will not get complacent. The draws keep it ticking over and adding to the points, hopefully we will break the 50 points mark before long.”

Stags have shown what they can do against top teams in recent games with wins over Cheltenham and Morecambe, as well as a battling draw against Forest Green.

And they are matches which Clough and his players have been making plenty of notes from.

“It is encouraging to see that we can compete with these teams,” said Clough.

“We want to be up where they are and in the top seven, challenging for automatic promotion if we can.

“We have a good look at these teams and have said to the players, this is where we want to be. We wish we were up there.”