Opinion: Mansfield Town need to build momentum ready for next season

Graham Coughlan was axed as manager in late October after failing to win any of the opening nine games before the experienced Nigel Clough was brought in a week later.

Clough immediately set about steadying the ship and managed to oversee a big upturn in form as Stags only lost one game between the start of December and the end of January, winning six of their ten games.

However, since then, Mansfield have gone off the boil and their recent poor form has seen them struggle to kick on as many would have liked and they remain at the lower end of the table.

There’s no real need for anyone at the club to panic, they are not going to get relegated just as they are not going to challenge for promotion, but with everyone already writing this season off and looking ahead to the next campaign, it is important the club try to build some momentum and good will ahead of what will be a successful year.

With fans set to return next season, after so long away, it would be good to get underway with a real buzz around the place. With fourteen games to go, there’s still plenty of time for Stags to make sure this season doesn’t fizzle out too badly.

Down the other end of the A60, the same can be said for Nottingham Forest who find themselves in a very similar situation. What was supposed to be a strong season has resulted in them hovering above the relegation places, with the club also having to change manager to try and halt the slump they found themselves in.

Like Clough at Mansfield, Chris Hughton has made a clear improvement since arriving at the City Ground but has been unable to put the sort of consistency together that would have seen the Reds climb the league table.

Forest have been out of the top flight for far too long and in Hughton, they have a manager with the know-how to get them back to where they feel they belong. A strong end to this season would help set the groundwork for any success to come.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​