Mansfield Town

Barnet v Mansfield
Barnet have only Magno Vieira available as a striker because on-loan Adam Birchall cannot play against his parent club Mansfield. Liam Hatch is serving a one-match ban, while Giuliano Grazioli (ankle) and Jason Norville (hamstring) are out. Mansfield are waiting on the fitness of defender Jake Buxton, who limped out of the FA Cup defeat against Doncaster with a hip strain. Stephen Dawson remains the only definite absentee with a back problem.

Parkin interested in Stags return
Former Mansfield Town manager Steve Parkin said he would be interested in a return to Field Mill. The 41-year-old has parted company with Stags' League Two rivals Rochdale. Parkin, who was in charge at Field Mill between October 1996 and June 1999, says he would welcome a second spell after the departure of Peter Shirtliff. Parkin said: \"I still have a lot of friends in Mansfield and I still live in the area. It is certainly something I would be interested in.\"

Darlington 0-2 Mansfield
Darlington's miserable run of form continued as Mansfield ran out easy winners condemning the Quakers to their sixth straight defeat. Mansfield took the lead after only four minutes when captain Richie Barker fired into an empty net after keeper David Stockdale's mis-kick. The visitors missed chance after chance in a one-sided affair. And Nathan Arnold fired in Mansfield's second when he raced clear and fired a low drive past Stockdale from 10 yards. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Darlington: Stockdale, Close, Collins, Albrighton (Duke 46), James, Griffith (Carlos Logan 58), Ngoma, Cummins, Smith, Reay, Johnson (Josh Wright 85). Subs Not Used: Norton, McLeod. Booked: Collins, Duke. Mansfield: White, Jelleyman, Baptiste, Buxton, Mullins, Hamshaw (Arnold 20), D'Laryea, Coke (Lloyd 90), Michael Boulding (Beardsley 74), Barker, Brown. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subs Not Used: Muggleton, Wood. Goals: Barker 5, Arnold 62. Att: 3,808 Ref: M Pike (Cumbria).

Dearden named Mansfield manager
Mansfield have appointed Billy Dearden as their new manager - with the 62-year-old taking over at Field Mill for a second time. Dearden, who was in charge between June 1999 and January 2002, succeeds Peter Shirtliff, who left on 19 December. \"I know the fans are behind me and I can't wait to start,\" said Dearden. His first match in charge will be at Accrington Stanley on Saturday, while caretaker boss Paul Holland will revert to his role as assistant manager. Dearden has signed a deal that will take him up to the end of the season. And he added on the club's website: \"Talks were long and hard as they always are but we have arrived at a conclusion we are happy with. \"I have fond memories of Mansfield Town and the good young players I had - and I think that the boys here now are similar. I believe that they can be even better than they are now. \"I have known Paul for a number of years, bringing him to the club as a 14-year-old, so we have a lot of history and I am looking forward to working with him.\" The Stags are currently 19th in the League Two table and Dearden said: \"They are currently in the bottom five so my immediate job is to get them into the top half of the table.\"

Mansfield v Hartlepool
Mansfield boss Billy Dearden may field the same XI that started the abandoned match against Accrington on Saturday when his side face in-form Hartlepool. Matty Hamshaw remains likely to miss out after suffering a hamstring injury on Boxing Day against Darlington. Jon Daly should be back in the Pool side after suspension as they look to extend their run of eight league wins. But Michael Nelson (knee) is again doughtful, while Michael Proctor and Joel Porter are still sidelined.

Boss Dearden holds contract talks
Mansfield Town boss Billy Dearden hopes to sort out his future this week and then begin contract negotiations with his players. Dearden came back to Field Mill for a second time in December and has a deal which run until the end of the season. He told Mansfield Today: "I am hoping to sort something out this week. "I do have a good idea about who I want for next season and would like to sort things out sooner than later so those we are releasing know."

Stags' ground capacity is halved
Concerns over spectators' safety has led to the crowd capacity at Mansfield Town's Field Mill ground being cut by half for next season. Nottinghamshire County Council took the decision which means the maximum number of fans at matches there will be 4,684. The council said the cut was due to a poor standard of stewarding and a lack of a pro-active approach to safety. A number of fans ran onto the pitch after the Stags' final home game when they beat Barnet to avoid relegation. Some supporters complained to the club about "heavy-handed stewarding" after they were allegedly manhandled. The county council is responsible for setting the ground capacity. Sue Storey from the authority's emergency planning team said: "We've had concerns for some time. "We've been giving the club the opportunity to develop stewarding and they introduced a new training regime for stewards at the start of the season. "Unfortunately what we saw on Saturday was not really a demonstration of good-quality stewarding." She said the council would monitor the club's performance over a number of matches next season. "This reduction affects all ends, so the stand which takes the away supporters will also have a 50% reduction. That will bring it down to about 955 which will have an effect for some of the local clubs who may want to visit." The average crowd for the club's League Two games this season has been 3,176. The biggest crowds were 6,646 for the Carling Cup tie against Portsmouth, 6,182 for the local derby against Notts County and 4,837 for Doncaster in the FA Cup. No one from the club has been available for comment.

Stags offer deals to 11 players
Mansfield Town boss Billy Dearden has offered new deals to 11 of his players. Alex John-Baptiste, Jason White, Carl Muggleton, Giles Coke, Simon Brown, Stephen Dawson and Gareth Jelleyman have been offered contracts. Chris Wood, Danny Sleath, Nathan Arnold and Ashley Kitchen have also given the chance to stay and offers are set to follow for Michael and Rory Boulding. Callum Lloyd has been added to the list of players who are not being kept on at Field Mill.

Jelleyman agrees new Stags deal
Mansfield boss Billy Dearden has praised defender Gareth Jelleyman, 26, for signing a new one-year contract to stay for a fourth year at Field Mill. "He's taking a drop in wages which is rare in today's climate," Dearden told the Nottingham Evening Post. "He just wants to play his football and isn't too bothered about anything else. "He's probably been one of my top three players since I came to the club and his signing is just as important as the two new lads coming in." The Stags recently signed midfielder Dan Martin from Notts County and defender John McAliskey from Huddersfield.

Stags want £300,000 for Baptiste
Mansfield have put a £300,000 valuation on defender Alex John-Baptiste, whose move to Crewe collapsed after they failed to meet the price tag. Stags chairman James Derry said: "Simon King has just gone from Barnet to Gillingham for £200,000 and I don't think he is anywhere near as good Bap. "He has also played more than 150 games for the club, is younger than King at 21 and is more versatile. "All those factors means Bap has to be worth £300,000 in today's market."

Trialist Piper decides to retire
Mansfield Town trialist Matthew Piper has decided to retire after following a lengthy battle with injury. The former Leicester and Sunderland forward had been training with the Stags during pre-season as he looked to build his fitness levels. Piper, 25, has had 10 knee operations in the last three years but was desperate to save his career. At the height of his career Sunderland paid £3.5m for Piper when they bought him from Leicester in August 2002.

Stags sign up Bell and Boulding
Mansfield have signed former Burton midfielder Lee Bell on a one-year contract, following a successful trial. Bell, 24, had joined the Brewers in January on a deal until the end of the season after leaving Crewe, and has now put pen to paper at Field Mill. Meanwhile, striker Rory Boulding, 20, has signed a new one-year contract. Boulding, who joined the Stags last summer alongside his brother Michael, made 11 substitute appearances last season but has not yet started a game.

Bullock completes Mansfield move
Hartlepool United midfielder Lee Bullock has joined Mansfield Town on a month's loan. Bullock, 26, has linked up with the Stags after failing to figure for Pools this season since their promotion to League One. "He's got experience and an eye for goal. He gives us an extra dimension in the middle of the park," Mansfield boss Billy Dearden told his club's website. Bullock has started 36 games for Hartlepool since signing in June, 2005.

Mansfield lose Bell card appeal
Mansfield have lost their appeal against the red card shown to midfielder Lee Bell against Stockport on Saturday. The Football Association's disciplinary commission rejected the claim of wrongful dismissal and have handed Bell a four-match ban. Bell was sent off after 75 minutes of Saturday's 4-2 victory. Boss Billy Dearden told Mansfield's website: "To ban him an extra game because we've appealed is ridiculous."

Stags apologise for ticket error
Mansfield Town FC could face an investigation after Chesterfield fans were given too many tickets for Saturday's local derby. Restrictions imposed by the county council safety officials earlier this year were breached. The mistake was spotted by officials just before Saturday's game - and the Stags have apologised for the mix-up. Chesterfield were only supposed to be allocated 1,300 tickets after Field Mill stewarding problems last year. 'Genuine mistake' The club was mistakenly allocated 1,900 seats. About 200 Chesterfield fans were allowed to sit in the disused Bishop Street Stand which does not have a safety certificate. The Stags have a restricted capacity of 6,553 after trouble at last season's final match with Barnet. Stags chairman James Derry said: "Due to an administrative error - which we have not yet got to the bottom of - they were sent 1,900 tickets. It was a genuine mistake." "I think we did very well as the game went off without an incident." He said the club also needed to increase its capacity or the Stags "will go out of business". "We are losing a quarter of a million pounds a year and we need to resolve this soon," the chairman said.

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