We’ll be aiming to do something tomorrow afternoon that we haven’t achieved since April 2021.

Having beaten Walsall, Tranmere and Harrogate, a win at unbeaten Mansfield would make it four successive league victories – last achieved when we beat Acccrington Stanley, Ipswich, Swindon and Oxford United.

“Why not?! We’re in good form with three on the bounce,” said Johnnie, after Friday’s session at the training ground and just before departing for Nottinghamshire. “Spirits are really high and we’re playing well.

“It is a tough place to go though and to get the four in a row we’re going to have to be right at it. We’re going into every league game confident, so let’s see if we can do it.”

You can see the full interview below.

What are your thoughts after analysis of the win at Harrogate on Tuesday night?

It was a good win on the road. We did some good work defensively, I think we could be better with the ball. We probably didn’t create as much as we have done. We’ve had a quick look back over it, but all the focus has been on Mansfield now and trying to overcome them.

They say the table starts to take shape after ten games – much room for improvement then still?

I think so. We’re pleased with where we’re at and the points tally that we’ve got and the stats all look good, but being greedy and looking back perhaps we could have had more. In defeat, I feel we could have got something from it and certainly the games we’ve drawn we could have had more – but that’s a good thing.

We’re sat in second with a good points tally, which I think says a lot about the group and how far we’ve come.

What time did you get back from Harrogate and how have preparations gone for Mansfield?

I got indoors about half three! It was a late one. Wednesday was a bit of a write off, but the lads had the day off. I got some work done on Wednesday afternoon though – looking at Mansfield and planning for the next two days.

Thursday was more about recovery, after that journey and knowing that we’ve got another long one. We got some really good work in today on the grass and it was a short and sharp session to save everyone’s legs. We have to go up to this game with as much energy that we can muster. We worked on some things that we think Mansfield will do, so that we try to counter that.

Connor Evans was back outside in the early stages of his rehab from a hamstring injury. Anyone else missing tomorrow?

No, everyone came through the game all right. With the journey, there were some tired legs on Thursday, but everyone looked fresh today. Connor will be the only one who is not available, but I’m hoping it’s not too long with him now. It’s good to see him back outside, but he’ll miss out on Saturday. Everyone else is there to be picked from.

Mansfield have drawn a few, but they remain unbeaten. How much are you looking forward to putting that to the test?

It’s a really tough game for us. They’re a really good team with really good players. The way they play is quite expansive and they can cause you a lot of problems with their movement – so we’ve got be on it and our shape will need to be good. We’re going to have to work hard and suffer at times, knowing that happens when you’re away to a good team.

They’re unbeaten for a reason, because they’ve started the season well. They’ve scored a lot of goals, and they don’t concede too many, so this really is a proper test. For us though – that’s brilliant. They’re going to have to lose a game at some point and we want to be the first ones to inflict that.

Photos: Pro Sports Images.  

You can listen to full commentary of the game, with our Radio WDON team, from 3pm on iFollow Dons.