Stags tour the town to celebrate promotion
MANSFIELD’S streets were inundated with thousands of ecstatic football fans yesterday for an open-top bus tour to celebrate the Stags’ promotion to English football’s third tier.
Nigel Clough joined Mansfield Town in 2020 with hopes of putting the Stags back on the map – and four years later, the team’s success was greeted by a roaring crowd as the squad and coaching staff paraded through the streets.
Grown men and young children alike were left in floods of tears when Clough’s men secured third place with a 2-1 victory over Accrington Stanley earlier this month, meaning automatic promotion for the Stags with two games to play.
On Saturday, Mansfield ended their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Barrow, who narrowly missed out on a play-off spot.
Supporters flooded into the fan zone and car park at Field Mill from around midday yesterday, sampling the atmosphere while indulging in the burgers and drinks offered by the vendors.
Stags were in abundance as fans gathered to show their appreciation, with the 2023/24 campaign providing the club’s first promotion in more than a decade. The Post spoke to some of the thousands around Field Mill, most of whom were displaying huge smiles despite the dreary weather.
One lifelong Stags fan, Des King, said: “I feel brilliant. It’s super to go up again after all these years.
Supporting Mansfield, you have your ups and downs – mostly down – it’s not like supporting Man City when you get a championship every year. You don’t get successes like this often and it’s important to celebrate when it does come around.”
The 66-year-old, who travels to Field Mill from Burton for every home game, added: “I was born just down the road and I’ve supported them since I can remember. It’s massive for the town, you can see that by looking around and seeing how many people have shown up.”
Another supporter, 15-year-old Keira Burton, added: “The fact we’ve been trying for so many years and we finally have a good squad is amazing. It’s great to go up and I think we have what it takes to have a strong season next year. Hopefully, we can progress to bigger and better things. I’ve been supporting the Stags for forever really, it just means so much. The town is electric, everywhere you go people are talking about it and everybody is just so happy.”
Stephen Williamson, 70, who has supported Mansfield since the 1970s, said: “It means everything to the town. The last 11 years have been a nightmare for us, but we knew it was coming – we’ve missed out so many times – and it’s unbelievable.
“It’s gone from 2,500 every game to a sell-out crowd each week. If the ground was bigger there would have been more there, it just shows what it means.”
Alec Harper, 67, added: “It’s brilliant for the town, brilliant for the club and brilliant for the fans. It’s good for everybody, I just hope it lasts. We don’t want to go straight back down again, we need to keep building and hopefully go up again. I don’t think we’ll get near promotion again but as long as we stay in the league then we can keep building.”
The parade departed Field Mill at around 1pm on Sunday before stopping at the Sir John Cockle, Bold Forester, William IV, the Market place and The Talbot. The bus returned to Field Mill at around 3.15pm where the players were greeted with another batch of cheering fans to cap off a day of celebrations.