Brabin wants an end to Mansfield hoodoo

Town have never won a league match at the home of the Stags and failed to score in either game last season, a goalless Conference draw and FA Trophy defeat.

Brabin said: “They have been a little bit of a bogey team for the last few years and we’ll be wanting to put that right.

“They are one of the fancied sides this season, it’s going to be a tough game, but I keep saying, we’ve got to concentrate on ourselves and make sure we start the game as we finished on Saturday.”

The Stags are yet to taste victory in the Blue Square Bet Premier this season, with two draws and a defeat to their name.

Brabin continued: “They are one of the fancied sides and it will be a tough game, but we’re looking forward to it.

“They’ve got some good players, but I don’t really want to mention them as we’ve got a good group of players.

“The results, from their point of view they might be a bit disappointed with, but it’s the first few games.

“It takes 10-12 games to see a bit of a pattern emerge in the league.

“As long as you finish strongly, I certainly won’t be losing any sleep over the first few games of the season.”

Town don’t have any fresh injury worries themselves as James Dance is expected to be fit after having stitches in a facial injury at the weekend.

Speaking to the press on Monday, Brabin added: “We’ve got another 24 hours to let the one or two little niggles settle down, James Dance being an obvious one, but we’ll give them a bit more time to get on the treatment table.”