Opposition Lowdown: Nigel Clough's Mansfield Town

Reading’s second game of the Easter weekend sees the Royals travel to Nottinghamshire to take on Mansfield Town. Join us as we take a closer look at the opposition.

Form

Mansfield Town secured promotion to League One last season, taking the final automatic promotion spot after finishing third in the league, eight points ahead of MK Dons, who finished fourth. This ended an 11-year spell in the fourth tier, having won promotion from the Conference in 2013.

They currently sit 18th in League One, five points clear of the relegation places with four games to go. The Stags' recent form has been mixed, having seen one win, one draw and three losses in their last five games.

Their away form has been stronger than their home this season, having picked up 26 of their 48 points on the road. They come into Monday’s game off the back of an entertaining 3-3 draw away to Rotherham United on Good Friday.

The two sides last faced each other at the end of December, with Reading claiming a 2-1 win at the Select Car Leasing Stadium after goals from Mamadi Camara and Tyler Bindon, with the defender scoring a bicycle kick.

The boss

Nigel Clough: Clough became Mansfield manager in November 2020, taking over from Graham Coughlan, who spent just under a year in charge of The Stags.

Clough had a 20-year-plus career as a player and was a forward who represented the likes of Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, Manchester City and Burton Albion, while also picking up 14 caps for England.

Son of the legendary Brian Clough, Nigel followed in his father’s footsteps, taking up his first managerial role at Burton in 1998, where he became player-manager. He spent more than 11 years at Burton, managing them in non-league.

Clough went on to join Derby County in January 2009, where he spent four and a half years, managing them in the Championship. He then joined Sheffield United in 2013 before returning in 2015 to Burton, where his managerial journey had started.

He guided Burton to the Championship in his first season, after finishing second in League One, managing to keep them in the second tier for two seasons, before suffering relegation in 2018.

Clough left Burton in 2020 and went on to join Mansfield in the same year. He guided the Stags to promotion to League One last season, after 16th-, 17th- and eighth-placed finishes in his previous seasons.

The 59-year-old is a strong tactician who demands hard work from his sides.

Squad

Mansfield supplemented their squad with the loan signings of three players in the winter transfer window. Midfielder Matthew Craig (twin brother of Reading’s Michael) joined from Tottenham Hotspur, while striker Jordan Rhodes and former Royals forward Caylan Vickers arrived from Blackpool and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively. They also secured the free-transfer signing of American striker Dom Dwyer in March.

Forward Evans is a doubt for this Monday’s game, having suffered a foot injury earlier on this month.

Predicted lineup

Pym, Oshilaja, Kilgour, Cargill, Hewitt, McLaughlin, Maris, Reed, Craig, Vickers, Akins

Key player

23. Adedeji Oshilaja: Defender Oshilaja joined Mansfield in June last year on a free transfer following the end of his contract with Burton.

He started his career in the youth setup at Cardiff City and made his debut for the Bluebirds in 2012. Oshilaja went on to make an additional two appearances for Cardiff but also spent time on loan at Newport County, Sheffield Wednesday, AFC Wimbledon and Gillingham.

He went on to join AFC Wimbledon on a permanent deal in 2017, where he spent two years, before going on to join Charlton Athletic. Two season later Oshilaja signed for Burton, where he spent the most settled time of his career, going on to make 133 appearances for the Brewers, scoring 12 goals.

Since joining Mansfield last summer, the 32-year-old has made 40 appearances for the club, scoring four goals. Oshilaja is a centre-back who is strong in the air but also an effective intercepter with the ball on the ground.

One to watch

30. Caylan Vickers: Forward Vickers joined Mansfield on loan for the remainder of the season on transfer deadline day, joining from Premier League Brighton.

Vickers is a product of the Reading academy, joining the club in 2013. He made his Royals debut in August 2023, coming off the bench in Reading’s league opener against Peterborough United.

Vickers went on to make 22 appearances for Reading, scoring three goals, before Brighton signed him on a permanent deal in last year’s winter transfer window.

Although he is yet to make a first-team appearance for Brighton, Vickers has impressed for their under-21 side, scoring seven goals. The 20-year-old has made 15 appearances for Mansfield since his move and has two Stags goals to his name.

Vickers can play anywhere across the front three and in the number 10 role. He is a strong dribbler with the ball at his feet.