Mansfield boss Steve Evans is, of course, well known to Reds fans after his five-year spell in charge at the club between 2007-12 when he led Crawley to the Football League, the brink of promotion to League One and successive appearances in the fifth round of the FA Cup. This will be Steve’s third return as manager of the opposition and he has yet to experience defeat. His Rotherham team won 2-1 here in 2013 and on the final day of last season the sides shared four goals when Matt Harrold had his only game in temporary charge of the Reds.
Dermot Drummy, who died last Monday, will be remembered with a minute’s applause before kick off on Saturday. Evans’ first game in charge of Mansfield saw him come up against Dermot in November 2013. “I knew Dermot very well when he was at Chelsea and he was one of the first people to call me when I got the (Mansfield) job. To get that news last week was a real shock,” said Steve.
Reds will be aiming to beat Mansfield in a League game for the first time on Saturday. Three of the four previous meetings have ended in Stags’ wins, including a 1-0 success here when Mark Yates was in charge. Reds last beat Mansfield in 2011 in the Conference, winning 2-0.
Mansfield were inconsistent at the start of the season but their results have picked up and they have won six of their last eight, drawing 1-1 at Blackpool in the Checkatrade Trophy on Wednesday before bowing out 5-4 on penalties. Their last loss on the road in League 2 was at Colchester in early October. Last Sunday’s 3-0 win over Guiseley earned them a tilt at Championship promotion chasers Cardiff City in the third round of the FA Cup.
Steve Evans rebuilt the Mansfield squad in the summer with a welter of new signings. League 2 player of the month nominee Zander Diamond, who is the Stags’ captain, and 11-goal Danny Rose (pictured) are among those to look out for on Saturday.
