TO supporters up and down the country, 'England's number one' is seen as a toss up between David James, Robert Green, Ben Foster and Scott Carson.

To Mansfield Town fans, though, the position is undisputed – belonging to their favourite goalkeeper, Alan Marriott.

The chant that rings round Field Mill every time the former Lincoln custodian makes a spectacular save is firmly tongue in cheek.

But it nevertheless shows the high affection in which he has been held by the Stags faithful since his January move from Rushden and Diamonds.

Considering Mansfield's problems in the number one position prior to Marriott's arrival, his steadying presence has been appreciated all the more.

Time and again he has shown his class with top-drawer saves to leave opposition strikers holding their heads.

It is easy to see why he is rated as one of the best goalkeepers in non-league football – and so revered on the terraces.

"I have always had a good rapport with the fans, so it's great to have that at Mansfield ," said Marriott.

"It is a two-way thing for me and I like to contribute towards that because they give you a fantastic boost every game.

"The players really do appreciate the backing and we know how passionate they are about their team doing well.

"It definitely helps when you go away to different places. Out of the 1,200 who were at the Kidderminster game, I think 400 of them were from Mansfield for a midweek away game. It is like that everywhere we go.

"It's just disappointing when they turn up and we put in shoddy performances – and they have every right then to vent their anger.

"The home support is also fantastic with crowds over 3,000 and it's an enjoyable place to play your games."

After last week's FA Cup victory over Altrincham, Mansfield face a tricky home Blue Square Premier match against Histon.

The Stutes are fast-improving this season after a slow start and are renowned for playing a long ball game that is difficult to cope with.

Marriott is also driven to do well by the memories of the two sides' last meeting at the Glassworld Stadium in March.

"We went to Histon at the back end of last season when we got done 3-0 and it was a terrible performance from us where we contributed to our own downfall," he said.

"You know what is coming from the long throws and free-kicks, but you can pretty much get that every week in this league anyway.

"The difference with them is they tend to have more big players in the team and you have to show good strength of character to be able to deal with that.

"Everyone expects us to beat Histon because of where they are in the league, but they are in a false position.

"Personally, I have to be ready for some heavy impacts. I'm not the biggest keeper out there and that might mean I need to punch a bit more than usual when I prefer to catch if I can.

"We will have to defend with our lives at times and we have seen what it could be like with the way Kettering were at times."

Encouragingly for home supporters, though, Marriott feels Mansfield are now a lot better equipped to deal with the unique threat that Steve Fallon's team pose.

He said: "The whole squad has changed since I first came in. It has gone full circle.

"One of the areas where we have improved is that we have got a better, more solid back line.

"When we last played Histon we were chopping and changing and Alan O'Hare came back into the side (at left-back) and no-one was used to each other's styles and their strengths and weaknesses.

"You really need to have a good understanding going when you are playing Histon and we are starting to develop that now.

"Hecks (Paul Heckingbottom) coming in with his experience has been a massive help.

"We have got a lot of strong lads now, while the likes of Duffers (Ron Duffy) and (Kyle) Perry can come back to help out from set pieces when needed."

And if all that fails, there is no-one Mansfield fans would rather see as their team's last line of defence than Marriott.