STANLEY boss John Coleman was full of praise for his players after Luke Joyce’s penalty earned the Reds a third successive win since his return as manager.

“I’m delighted for the players, they put a hell of a lot of effort into it,” he said. “Mansfield are a very good side at home so to come here and win is a great achievement for the players.

“I thought we were absolutely magnificent in the first half hour. We were playing like a team that was top of the league; we had a swagger and a belief about us.

“Whilst we were always dangerous on the counter we’ve rode our luck a little towards the end which is something that we have to work on.”

The Stags were resurgent in the second half and a stubborn defensive performance was crucial in coming away from the One Call Stadium with a narrow victory.

“The back four have put a great shift in today. Poor Tom [Aldred] has come off having lost a tooth and I know how vain these young boys get! Hopefully he has a good career and ends up with a nose like mine!

“If someone had told me after Northampton that we’d have back-to-back clean sheets you’d have bitten their hand off for that,” Coleman added.