Just three sleeps until Mansfield Town return to football league action as they face Tranmere Rovers on Saturday upcoming in the new seasons’ opener after (and midst) stranger times following the last League Two game played all the way back in the third month of this long and miserable year.

You have to go as far as the 3^rd March 2020 when Mansfield beat Northampton Town at Sixfields to find some level of football normality before a covid-enforced lockdown that would put pay to a season that had already long stuttered into insignificance for the Stags with the team neither going up, nor were they seriously considered to be going down.

Mansfield were 21^st by the time of lockdown but more importantly were 15 points clear of the relegation threatened places at the foot of league two and although it was certainly a season to forget, it would also be considered as one in which the club and their owners can learn from following a number of mistakes made by a team and its backroom staff and above that only missed out on promotion to league one the season before simply because it lost their last three games.

With a new Manager at the helm since December, Graham Coughlan has tried drastically to turn around the Stags fortunes, but it hasn’t been easy, a number of players have now parted with many new faces in. The tough Irish disciplinarian has now had a pre-season (of sorts) and now he can say, it’s his team, on his head shall be it.

Prior to the cut-short end of the last campaign Coughlan had already tinkered with his formation to get the team playing the way he wanted and whilst going through a number of players his sides results were often inconsistent.

Since that last game and last decent league performance at Northampton in March a lot has changed at Mansfield. Outgoings have been plenty, incomings just as many. No more are the likes of CJ Hamilton and Krystian Pearce regulars on the team-sheets. Willem Tomlinson has been recently released whilst Neal Bishop recently retired. In come Rollin Menayese and Ollie Clarke, tried and tested, trusted from Coughlan’s successful time at Bristol Rovers.

New signings include Jordan Bowery and Jamie Reid in attack. James Perch adds experience in midfield whilst Farrend Rawson and Corey O’Keefe bolster the defence. Giant Czech, Marek Stech signs in goal whilst the signing of the summer could be young Aaron O’Driscoll released by Premier League side Southampton. It really is a new team, but pre-season has all been about putting things together.

Whilst results haven’t gone the way Coughlan would have wanted, Mansfield have tinkered towards the 3-5-2 formation that they largely finished the last season with. Against Manchester City’s youngsters in the Football League Trophy the Stags gave a good account of themselves for 89 minutes against a well oiled Football machine. Against Preston in the Carabao Cup on Saturday, they didn’t.

Things will have to turn around quickly if the owners, fans and even players are to buy into the Coughlan way. A good season start will have all full of faith and belief whilst a poor start, anything like last season under John Dempster and will almost certainly be time for change.

Whilst those who believe in Coughlan and his way will know that patience is a virtue to try get things right with consistency and a winning mentality installed into all at the club impossible to achieve over night, often in football time is not a gimmie however when it comes to needing to get things right.

The Stags start with Tranmere who were ‘harshly’ relegated with twelves game to play in their first season back in League One. Some would have them as favourites whilst Mansfield are strong fancied by the bookmakers too. Saturday could be a good test to see how far the Stags have come, and to see how much they still need to improve.

It won’t be Rome built in a day, it will be work in progress under strange circumstances of football without fans for some time yet but Mansfield Town will need to be there or thereabouts, to have a fighting chance when the business end of the campaign approaches.

With Nicky Maynard and Danny Rose they still have goals. With Harry Charsley and Tyrese Sinclair they have exciting young talent that can unlock defensive doors. With Mal Benning and Ryan Sweeney they have two of the best left footers in the division.

It is all about Coughlan gelling his team with the right blend of existing stars and the correct amount of new players that will hopefully improve its spine and sides. Whilst Coughlan still tinkers to find the winning formula, he best hope that it isn’t too long that he finds the right way to get the best out of his players because if he doesn’t, it won’t be long before someone else is given the job to do it on his behalf.

Mansfield with players on paper should be good enough to push for promotion and be in and around the playoffs this season, we all know however football is not played on paper, so transferring Coughlan’s notes and research ‘to doing it on the pitch’ week in week out is very much next step in Stags phased pursuit of promotion.

My Prediction: If Coughlan can get some sort of consistency early-doors a top seven position is achievable, if the Stags don’t find their feet in the opening weeks, it could be a long old season ending in potentially the same insignificance as last year.

*Article provided by Daniel Peacock (Editor).

*Main image @mansfieldtownfc Graham Coughlan has rebuilt the Stags team to how he wants it.