Locals call on owner to see the light

For tomorrow's opponents, Mansfield, appear to be a club in crisis - as any football fan may suspect if he drives into the town from the M1.

Placards on lampposts proclaim "Haslam out".

It is a reflection of a controversy surrounding the running of Field Mill and the way a possible sale of the club has dragged on..

The local paper, the Mansfield CHAD, issued a Save our Stags plea - urging owner Keith Haslam to sell quickly.

It says that the club is in danger of disappearing and is in its most perilous position in its 110-year history.

The paper said that issues included the way the club was being run, a perceived lack of investment on and off the pitch and the delay in concluding any sale.

It argued this was affecting results, attendances, commercial activity and safety matters.

A recent game was watched by the lowest crowd for six years.

A fan group, Stags Supporters Association, have been paying for training facilities for manager Billy Dearden's squad.

As if all that was not enough, controversy erupted at Mansfield's 2-1 home defeat by MK Dons on Tuesday.

Several Stags players confronted referee Darren Drysdale after the game.

The ref then twice refused to speak to chairman James Derry before pushing him away, it is alleged.

The after-match scenes were reported to the FA by the ref.

Chairman Derry went to the side of the pitch to praise the players for their efforts in an exciting match and then wanted to speak to the referee.

Derry said he wanted to ask why a Dons player had not been sent off during a fracas when Micky Boulding was pulled down and wanted to help calm down a heated situation.

"The referee just stopped me and said 'how dare you'? Then he pushed me away," he said.

Mansfield said they would make an official complaint over Drysdale's handling of the match.

Sheffield Wednesday midfield player Sean McAllister was due to make a farewell appearance against the Millers after being with the Stags for a month but his loan has been extended to a second month.

Billy Dearden said: "Brian Laws has agreed we can keep him and the lad wants to stay.

"I though he was excellent on Tuesday night. The little fellow did extremely well. He is a terrier but can play football.

"I have a lot of time for the lad. Sean has enjoyed himself so far. I can take him for up to three months but we are just taking it month by month at the moment."

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