Mansfield may have beaten Championship Sheffield United and Premier League Burnley in the last two rounds of the FA Cup, but it is another game in the run that stands out for Town boss Nigel Clough.
“Accrington away,” says the 59-year-old, without missing a beat.
That was in the second round, three months ago at the start of December. They had only just scraped past League Two Harrogate 3-2 at home in the first.
“We were down and out in extra time, playing in some of the worst conditions you’ve ever seen. We were done.
Nigel Clough has led Mansfield to the FA Cup fifth round for the first time since 1974/75
“A young lad called Kyle McAdam, who was on loan from Forest at the time, popped up with a goal and it was one of the most important goals of the season.”
Clough’s side went on to advance after a 3-1 shoot-out win.
“It’s times like that you have to get through. Any good cup run of a lower league club will always have those moments, absolutely crucial moments. I think that was ours.
“You have to get through those and get over those hurdles in order to have a chance even of getting the rewards later on in the competition.”
Mansfield came from behind to beat Burnley 2-1 in the fourth round, booking a spot in the fifth round of the competition for the first time since the 1974/75 season, when they were a Fourth Division club beaten 1-0 by First Division Carlisle.
“To see people’s faces after the Burnley game – we took about 3,500 there and would’ve taken more if it had been allowed – and what it meant to them was worth everything,” Clough adds.
“You started becoming aware of football at nine, 10-years-old, something like that, so really, any Mansfield fan under the age of 60 has never seen their club in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Mansfield beat Burnley 2-1 in the fourth round
Louis Reed scored the winner at Turf Moor
“That’s special, to be able to give a whole new generation that experience.”
It is then fitting, perhaps, that the reward for reaching this stage is a tie against Arsenal, the Premier League leaders.
Poignantly, the Gunners were the last team his dad Brian faced in the FA Cup before he retired in the summer of 1993, after more than 18 years in charge at Nottingham Forest.
There is no room for sentiment here. “That’s just a nice bit of trivia,” he says with a smile. “I had no idea!”
But there is room for excitement.
“When you see the tie on paper, it looks pretty special. It probably epitomises what the FA Cup is about.
“The supporters, everybody, absolutely can’t wait for it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. We’re talking about Mansfield not being here for 51 years – and then Arsenal coming to our little ground as well.
“It’s going to be a great occasion for everybody. It’ll be a bit cheaper for the Arsenal fans to come and watch Mansfield!”
For Clough personally, though, the overriding feeling is one of apprehension.
“The last time I came across Mikel Arteta, I was at Burton and he was assistant to Pep Guardiola at Man City – and they beat us 9-0!
“I’ve not seen him since then and I’m not particularly looking forward to seeing him this time, if it’s the truth!”
There is apprehension, too, because of Mansfield’s position in Sky Bet League One.
When they reached the fifth round in 1974/75, they went on to be promoted as Fourth Division champions. This time around, they are 16th, winless in nine and only five points off the relegation zone.
“We are in a little bit of a perilous situation at the moment and we need a few points on the board,” he says.
“This season will be for nothing if we don’t stay in the league. We remind the players on a daily basis of exactly what’s important here. They realise that as well.
“Yes, this is an opportunity, but the focus will be on the league games after that. We have to try and stay in the league. It’s so tight at the bottom of League One at the moment.
“Our results in the cup have been fantastic, but they haven’t affected the league form because we’ve played well. We look at the effort and the running stats and they’ve been right up there around the FA Cup win at Burnley.
“There’s been no difference in the attitude of the players and there won’t be.”
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Highlights of the Sky Bet League One match between Rotheram United and Mansfield Town
Preparation for Arsenal’s visit will not be drastically different, Clough insists. If anything, he suggests ties against bigger clubs can actually make things simpler.
“When we play teams from higher up, we have no idea what they are going to do. We have no idea who they are going to play because they have got big games either side of it as well.
“With the strength of their squads, we expect Arsenal to make changes as they played Brighton on Wednesday and then they have got a Champions League game. They have got much bigger concerns than Mansfield away in the FA Cup.
Arsenal beat Brighton 1-0 in the Premier League on Wednesday night
“We can’t do too much on them and we just say to the players to concentrate on ourselves. It really does focus the team. We can look at Arsenal’s squad and it will frighten the life out of our lads if we start doing that! So just concentrate on ourselves, as we have in the earlier rounds.”
It is an approach that has already carried Mansfield past Sheffield United and Burnley and, while they will not say it, one they hope will help take them one step further.
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