Burns: Stag can go up this season

I TELL you what I would love to see, Mansfield Town promoted back into League Two.

Last season, I feared they would not return at the first attempt and have to settle for mid-table.

Unfortunately, that proved to be the case. But this season, under David Holdsworth, I hoped better times would be ahead.

He did a good job when he came in back in January but some people may have doubted whether he was the right man to lead them back into the Football League.

Well, those doubters will not be thinking like that now. The only question is when, not if.

Yes, he has signed and disposed of a lot of players but what he has managed to achieve is a formidable home record (just one defeat all year at Field Mill) and a winning mentality.

His teams can mix it up and when he brought in a lot of big men, some might have questioned whether it would be all route one.

Not at all, they can play it on the floor but when they need to roll their sleeves up and get down and dirty, they have players for the fight.

People like Matt Somner, Scott Garner and Kyle Perry. Those are the kind of men you want alongside you in the trenches.

But when it comes to playing football, Ryan Williams and Kyle Nix can match the best of them in the Blue Square Premier – and probably beyond.

With Oxford running away with it and just one automatic promotion place up for grabs, the play-offs would be the realistic route for Mansfield.

As it goes, they are well in the mix and if they can secure one of those berths, whether they go up or not, it would have been a successful season.

Tuesday they turn their attention to a FA Cup replay at home to Forest Green. Win that, and Bath City stand between them and a third round tie with one of the big guns.

It's a long way off but these players will want to impress, make a name for themselves. And in doing so, they can help propel the Stags towards a return to the Football League at the second time of asking.