Manager speaks after Stags defeat
Manager Graham Alexander was left feeling disappointed following this afternoon’s narrow defeat away at Mansfield Town.
It was only Fleetwood’s second league loss of the year, which meant that the Cod Army remained in fifth position following this afternoon’s results.
Matt Rhead’s first half header was enough for all three points for the Stags, and lifted Paul Cox’s men up to 17th in the table.
Town made their second trip to the area in the space of four days, having beaten Chesterfield at the Proact Stadium on Tuesday night.
Speaking to the club’s official website after the game, Alexander said: “I thought over the 90 minutes we were good enough to get something out of the game. We put ourselves in an awkward position by conceding a poor goal from a set-piece, and unfortunately that’s lost us the game. In the second half we bossed it for the last twenty five minutes, and just haven’t had the break we needed in front of goal.”
The boss was frustrated as to the way Town conceded their goal, with Rhead unmarked in the box to net a free header.
He continued: “We had to make changes today as we’ve got a few injuries and have an illness bug going through the squad at the minute, which is why we lost both Charlie and Conor, and Alan Goodall has been feeling under the weather as well. He had to come off at half time; partly because how he was feeling, but also party because we wanted to change this tactically as were obviously behind.
"The goal we conceded was a nothing goal as the lad has put it in the area and the striker’s got a free header. That isn’t acceptable as this level; it’s a concentration thing and we have to be prepared.”
"The goal we conceded was a nothing goal as the lad has put it in the area and the striker’s got a free header. That isn’t acceptable as this level; it’s a concentration thing and we have to be prepared.”
Next up for the Cod Army is the visit of Plymouth Argyle at Highbury on Tuesday night, and Alexander insists it is the perfect chance to bounce back and get on the winning road.
“It’s a game we’re looking to win as we want to stay in that pack and try and get into the top three if we can," he concluded.
"We can’t really do too much hard work though, as the games are coming thick and fast, and we’ve got to see who’s fit and available on Monday. We’ve got seven lads out injured and a few lads ill, so it’s not ideal, but we’re not the only team in that situation, so there’s no point moaning about it."
“It’s a game we’re looking to win as we want to stay in that pack and try and get into the top three if we can," he concluded.
"We can’t really do too much hard work though, as the games are coming thick and fast, and we’ve got to see who’s fit and available on Monday. We’ve got seven lads out injured and a few lads ill, so it’s not ideal, but we’re not the only team in that situation, so there’s no point moaning about it."