Mansfield can celebrate a huge success at the end of this season after managing to finish top of the table in dramatic circumstances. The Stags spent only a few days as leaders in the standings during the course of the campaign but they did so at the most important moment and Paul Cox will be taking the plaudits after overcoming very stiff opponents along the way. He and his team just missed out on promotion the previous campaign after a loss in the play-offs against York but their ambition was clear to see in the summer as the Stags signed some very good players and had one of the biggest squads in the division. Yet, that was more of a problem than a bonus for Cox early on as he seemed unsure what his best 11 was and constantly changed his starting 11. His men conceded eight goals in their first two games only and even though the team improved slightly in the next few games, the lingering suspicion remained that they cannot defend against the better teams and have a soft underbelly. Grimsby, Ebbsfleet and Cambridge served them thumping defeats in the weeks to follow and there seemed to be no solution to the problem of lack of understanding and rhythm in the team as Cox continued to change the formula and try different things. Things started to get back to normal in October as a run of just one loss in eight games started to move the team upwards in the table. In the same time, they progressed in the FA Cup after a dramatic win in the tie against Lincoln and that set up a money-spinning game against Liverpool in the third round. They actually ran the Reds close in a 2:1 loss at home and the performance in that game really provided them with a platform for the second half of the season. A loss at the hands of Kidderminster two weeks later was a rare lapse as Cox's men started to gain real momentum and become unplayable for their opponents. They won their next four games on the spin to close in on the play-off places and even a costly 2:0 loss at Newport County did not deter them. They actually used the pain from that defeat as motivation and claimed huge results in the next few weeks, claiming late winners at Luton, Lincoln and Woking. They won 12 games in a row to steamroll the opposition in the battle for promotion, leapfrogging a number of teams and putting themselves in the battle for the title despite only making the play-off places for a first time all season in late February. Matt Green was superb up front while the presence of experienced midfielder Adam Murray and solid defensive duo Luke Jones and John Dempster was proving a key. Their form was so relentless than winning the title almost looked like a given by Easter despite sitting behind leaders Kidderminster as Mansfield had three games in hand on them. However, defeats against Wrexham and Braintree in the space of ten days knocked the previously superb Stags and the race for the top spot went to the wire. The penultimate game away at Hereford had to be won and the game was tied at 1:1 going to the closing stages but the Green came up with a massive winner and ensured that the team went to the final day of the season in control of their fate. A nervy 1:0 win against Wrexham eventually saw them over the line and kicked off wild celebrations as the Stags returned to the Football League after a five-year hiatus. The success was mainly due to the fact that Cox finally settled on a relatively stable starting 11 and his unquestionably good players clicked in to become an unstoppable force that bullied their way to the top despite not playing the most refined football.
