Manager Paul Rockley talks to Bulls TV and discusses his tenth game in charge of The Bulls.
AFC Mansfield, unfortunately, suffered a 3-0 home defeat against a strong Heanor Town side on Saturday.
AFC Mansfield's Gaffer Paul Rockley was appointed by ex-owner Spencer Fearn on the 19th of October 2022.
His first game at home against Easington Sports in The Sports Ground Development UCL Cup resulted in an impressive 4-0 win at the Forest Town Arena.
The Bulls boss was asked how he was finding his return to management since his appointment and how has his time been at AFC Mansfield so far, the boss quoted.
"Really enjoyable- it's good to be back. I was considering taking a longer break after the disappointing experience with my previous post.
So it had to have the right ingredients for me to come back in after around a five to six-week break.
After being interviewed by Spencer who made it clear what the situation was and where it could go during the ownership situation.
I had no concerns when offered the position. I have a group of young players, the majority of the players are in their first season at this level of football.
So it's been a good learning curve for them and with limited resources,
I have really enjoyed the challenges that come with that.
I feel there is a tight-knit group in the committee who back and understand where we are currently and what we need to do to progress forward I do expect some bumps in the road during this season.
With more games and an understanding of what we want from them, the players will grow.
In the first five games, I was really encouraged by where in other circumstances we could have been unbeaten.
We should have beaten Kimberley and drawn with Boston with 10 men. But these experiences will make this group stronger in the longer term.
I have to remember that the average age of the starting line-ups will be 22/21 and under.
The next five fixtures we had a tricky run of games and had some lessons which we will need to take into the second half of the season and learn.
Survival is the aim for this season and anything higher is added bonus given the limited resources.
We have a mini-league developing at the bottom to lower mid-table we need to make progress and close the gaps between us and the teams around.
The Bulls continue to grow and are one point behind Eastwood CFC with two games in hand in the league.
Paul Rockley has managed some impressive results during his time with the Bulls the Gaffer was asked if there has been a particular highlight.
In the first five games and the response from a new group of players, the quick change in ownership was done very smoothly and the backing Mike Abbs and the rest of the committee have given me and the players.
I felt we were really competitive against all our opponents, to the point we were only behind at halftime once in all of those games.
Ollie Lawrence's injury has been a turning point and finding a replacement hasn't been easy. Given his aggressiveness in the middle of the park.
So we did struggle with the 3 games against Loughborough Students, Newark and Quorn in the same week.
Where we were still trying to build depth in the squad. We had a good win against Leicester Nirvana it was a shame with the bad weather as we have suffered with the gaps between games and I think that has shown in our performances since the return post-Christmas.
I feel we are getting close again to having a mini-run of games that can take us away from the relegation zone. it will take a lot of hard work and grit to do this.