In a roller coaster last few hours Bristol Rovers Manager Graham Coughlan has left the League One club having beaten Ipswich Town on Saturday to record a fourth successive league win taking his team to fourth in the promotion race just two points off second place to joining 18^th placed League Two Mansfield Town in what is regarded as a surprising but solid looking appointment for the Stags.

Mansfield have acted quickly following the dismissal of John Dempster on Saturday and brought in Coughlan a former no-nonsense centre half that knows the league well from playing stints at Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham, Shrewsbury and Southend amongst others.

On his appointment Coughlan said “This is a massive opportunity and a massive chance for me. The main attraction was the ambition of the chairman”.

He said “The opportunity to manage a club like Mansfield Town with the ambition at this football club, the facilities and of course to be at home with my wife and kids was an absolute mammoth attraction”.

Coughlan stated “I’ve been living in this part of the country for the best part of 20 years and it’s an honest, hard-working area – that’s what I am and that’s the background I’ve come from.”

“That’s all we drummed into the players at Bristol Rovers. If you’re not honest and you’re not hard-working, you won’t have any place at this football club.”

“We will be honest, we will be hard-working and we will wear that jersey with pride. That’s all I ask of the players.”

Mansfield Town Chairman John Radford stated on unveiling his appointment “We’ve got our man. Graham has done an outstanding job at Bristol Rovers and we’re delighted to welcome him to our club.”

Coughlan’s first job will be to take charge of the Stags in league action as they host Northampton Town on Saturday at the One Call Stadium.

*Main image @mansfieldtownfc Coughlan with Stags CEO Carolyn Radford after arriving at the club.