Mansfield boss John Dempster vows to battle on
Posted Wednesday, September 18, 2019 by PA
Under-fire Mansfield manager John Dempster is vowing to battle on after his side were crushed 4-0 by Cambridge.
Mansfield had dominated the first half and twice went close to taking the lead through CJ Hamilton.
But the game turned dramatically four minutes after the restart when Matt Preston was dismissed for a reckless tackle on Luke Hannant.
Cambridge dominated from that point and opened the scoring when sub Jack Roles slotted home from a rebound on 74 minutes.
Andy Cook missed a great chance to level after Danny Rose played him in on 86 minutes.
And it was a costly miss when Sam Smith finished off a counter attack seconds later.
George Maris hit another on the stroke of full-time after a Marc Richards shot had been saved, before Reggie Lambe scored from the penalty spot five minutes into stoppage time.
Dempster said: “There is pressure, I carry the weight of the town on my shoulders.
“Some of the comments from our home supporters are out of order, but it is part of the game and the life we choose.
“I understand the frustration and stick, but some of the comments are ridiculous and I think I deserve more respect for my service to the club.
“I have to just get on with it, it feels like everything that could go wrong is going wrong at times.
“It has been a real rollercoaster and a real challenge, I knew it would be.
“It was a challenge that I was always going to face front on, I have a young family to provide for and there is pressure but there is people in worse positions than me.
“I will battle on and never give up. I still believe the boys can get us promoted.”
Cambridge boss Colin Calderwood admitted the red card had been pivotal.
“If ever there was a deciding factor in the game it was that red card. I did not think we did anything in the first half that warranted any praise.
“We stuck in the game and they missed their moments on counter attacks and long balls.
“They unsettled us at the back in the first half and we tried to get rid of the ball too quick and we did not have the control.
“You have to feel sorry for John Dempster and the situation he is in and getting beat 4-0 at home.
“Up until the tackle we would have been happy to have walked away with a clean sheet.
“We can play better and we did in the second half, but it took until 10 men.
“Some of the stuff against 10 men was good, but we have got to be able to do that against 11 men as well.”
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