'Windy road' to play-offs for Charlton's Mannion

Charlton Athletic goalkeeper Will Mannion has said it has been a "windy road" to get to the cusp of the League One play-offs.A win on Good Friday against Northampton Town would guarantee the Addicks a place in the post-season shake-up.And ahead of the match at The Valley, Mannion has reflected on his career so far."It's been a windy road to get to this point, a lot of ups and downs and I've had to earn my trade a little bit in the lower leagues," the 26-year-old told BBC Radio London."I think that has sort of given me the sort of experience which has come to fruition this year."I'm really happy with how this year has gone and hopefully we can make it even better."
Mannion moved to Charlton from Cambridge United on a free transfer in the summer, previously spending time on loan at clubs such as Aldershot, Kidderminster Harriers and Havant & Waterlooville, as well as a year-long spell at Cypriot club Pafos.Following an injury suffered by Ashley Maynard-Brewer, Mannion has started the past 11 league matches for Nathan Jones' side during a run which has seen them pick up maximum points on eight occasions."It's a massive club to be playing in League One. We all want to get there to the next level and all I can say is I've really enjoyed the challenge," he added."The fans have been great, we just want to get back to where the club belongs."An outstanding personal effort of 12 clean sheets from 25 League One games has seen Mannion earn plaudits from pundits and fans alike this season, but his humble beginnings in his career means he remains grounded."It has been good, I think I owe them a few drinks at the end of the season for the clean sheets," Mannion said of playing behind first-choice central defenders Lloyd Jones and Macaulay Gillesphey."They've been brilliant, the whole back five have really and the way we play, pressing from the front, it is not just the defenders either."

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Jay Stansfield's energy sparks England's Under-21 Euros bid to life as £15m striker steps out of the shadows with tireless display against Spain, writes NATHAN SALT

Jay Stansfield isn't much of a talker. A quiet, unassuming character, it was easy for the 22-year-old to blend into the background in the early stages of this tournament. That's been a place that's been hard for Stansfield to find at club level, what with a £15million move to Birmingham City making him the most expensive League One player ever. Jeered by opposing fans at every ground and labelled a 'waste of money' at every missed chance, going away with England has proved quite the departure. Stansfield touched down in Slovakia with just three England Under-21 caps to his name, his most recent in March 2024, and observers of Lee Carsley 's group noted how it took him a day or two to bring himself up to speed. That's not a knock on Stansfield either. Of all the outfield players in this squad it is Stansfield that was playing at the lowest-ranked level last season in League One. Here he quickly found himself in high-intensity training sessions with Champions League pedigree talent. But after thriving in the spotlight in his first start of the tournament, Stansfield's days in the background look to be numbered. Now he stands firmly centre stage in England's bid to win back-to-back Euros. This is Stansfield's first tournament for England and at 22 he knows there are no guarantees he will get another one. So to see him empty the tank across 81 minutes against Spain, an energiser bunny that was a complete pest all evening for the Spanish, was to see a player that has been waiting for his chance to make a point. Mail Sport can reveal that Stansfield covered 10.1 kilometres in Trnava, 1.2km of which was at 'high intensity'. Stansfield also recorded 194 intensive actions - determined as accelerations and decelerations - which was the most of any player in an England shirt on the night. His high intensity running was also a team high. Having been patient for his chance, Carsley got every last drop out of Stansfield. 'Jay was outstanding and more than deserved his opportunity,' Carsley said. 'Jay's a very, very unselfish striker, the way that he presses, the way that he puts defenders under pressure. 'You want him to have that much energy though when he's in front of goal because he can't do all the other side of the game and not get the rewards. But I thought he was outstanding.' Stansfield is understated, rarely one to hype up his own performances and that job once again fell on team-mates who were seen lauding him on the pitch and near the team bus after Saturday night's 3-1 win. 'He made everyone around him a better player,' Channel 4 pundit Joe Cole mused afterwards. Nobody in England's dressing room disagreed. There are Jamie Vardy-like tendencies to the way Stansfield presses like a man possessed at times and that has been a trait that England lacked in a group stage where they struggled to find any sort of rhythm in attack. No Liam Delap complicated things for Carsley. Operating two false nines in a 4-2-2-2 system was the decision he made and Marseille's Jonathan Rowe, who looks much more comfortable playing wide on the left, got the three group stage starts up top, all without a goal. Stansfield waited for his chance, coming on late in the 3-1 win over Czech Republic and in the 0-0 draw with Slovenia. He got a half to show what he was about in the 2-1 loss to Germany but found it tough. But the message being passed on during England training sessions has long been that big moments will arrive for every player and in his 50th appearance of the season for club and country, Stansfield answered the call just as Carsley knew he would. 'He's had a good season at Birmingham and one of the big things for me that's most impressive is the pressure he has had to deal with,' Carsley told Mail Sport. 'They paid a lot of money for him, got that promotion under his belt, scored a lot of goals so I think him bringing that to this squad is a big thing for us.' He answered the call against Spain and now a date with the Dutch awaits in Wednesday's semi-final.

Daily Record

a day ago

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I was locked in Rangers dressing room by police as fan protests erupted but takeover has ended outside noise

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'There is no way that any players can say it doesn't affect them, or they don't know what's going on. They absolutely know what's going on. ‌ 'It would have been the season we were in League One because Ally McCoist was still manager. 'We won the game. It was nothing to do with the team or the players - it was just sheer unrest about the way the club was bring run. 'As a player, you do notice these things and whether that takes half a percent away from your focus on your football, it's not good. ‌ 'Animosity against the board is not good for the players because it can completely throw their routines. 'Even simple things like getting out of the stadium, you are holding back a few hours because the police have to disperse the crowds. 'And it's difficult when you're thinking about bringing your kids to the game. ‌ 'It can be a home game, yet you are still having to think about whether they are going to feel safe in the stadium. 'It was hard. I understood there was a lot of things that were going on that probably shouldn't have happened but did. ‌ 'It's one of those ones that you look back and think, 'did that happen?' 'And it certainly did. You got used to it because so much went on. I remember the chief executive was changing three, four times within a year and thinking, 'what's going on here?' 'That's not a normal business. That's not how a business works, a stable business anyway. ‌ 'The administration rumour was getting thrown about when I was there and you're thinking, 'we've just moved on from that, is it happening again?' 'There were a lot of rumours back then and a lot of things that kind of happened that took your focus away a little bit. 'So just having everyone on the same page, everyone really looking forward to it, being positive about the club is great. ‌ 'That's not been there for a long, long time now. I was at the St Johnstone game last season where the demonstration took place, fans walking out. That's not ideal as a player. 'When you're playing and you know these things are happening. Your focus should 100 per cent be on the football pitch but sometimes these outside noises play a little bit of a part. 'The atmosphere changes. So yeah, I think the new ownership will be positive.' ‌ Bell is excited to see where Rangers go under the new regime. While the club will be steered by Americans Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe as chairman and vice-chairman, its the football side being run by newly-installed head coach Russell Martin and director of football Kevin Thelwell which will dictate the fans' mood over the coming months. As always, recruitment will be key. Bell said: 'It was vitally important they got this deal done. 'They needed fresh investment. They needed fresh ideas and I'm really excited about seeing where the club go with the new ownership, the new structure. ‌ 'It's going to take time. The structure will grow. It's already kind of gone in place with the director of football coming in, new head coach coming in. 'The recruitment department will grow. We know the recruitment's not been good enough over the last number of years and that's vital. It makes or breaks a football team, the recruitment. 'We need to give the new ownership time. They've worked hard already. You can see that they're working hard behind the scenes. And there'll be a lot of changes over the next two months. ‌ 'They need to find a new model of how they bring players in and how the club goes forward as well.' Bell reckons Martin will want up to six new signings ready for his starting XI over the course of the summer. And he says gelling the new-look squad quickly into Martin's renowned possession-based system will be the biggest test. ‌ Rangers return from their summer holidays for pre-season training tomorrow. And from the moment they report at Auchenhowie the clock will be ticking on the Champions League qualifier against Panathinaikos exactly a month later. Bell said: 'It's a difficult period to play these big, big games because it is pre-season. So it's so important for Russell Martin. 'He's got four weeks to prepare his players and get them ready because he needs to get off to a good start. ‌ 'We all know there's been question marks about his appointment. 'But for me, all the Rangers fans and everybody at the club will be behind him and trying to make sure they can be successful. 'I expect there'll be five, six potential starters that come into the club. So it's about gelling them, getting them prepared. ‌ 'Hopefully the excitement of joining the club shows because you get that first sort of excitement of joining such a big club like Rangers and you get that little boost and adrenaline rush. 'So yes, you're hoping that gets them over the line. But it's not an ideal scenario. 'It's a short period of time, it's always is a short period of time. The real obstacle this time is that it's a new manager, a new philosophy, a new identity, way of playing. ‌ 'To integrate that and make sure that's clicking for probably their biggest game of the season is really difficult.' Bell reckons much of the work over the next four weeks will be geared around getting players comfortable with Martin's style. He said: 'They've given the players a decent amount of rest, so they should be raring to go. Nowadays, players come back in really good shape. ‌ 'So Russell Martin's training will be all geared around how they play and how they win games of football. 'I'm pretty sure he'll reflect back on teams he's been at and showing the players the style that he wants to play. 'It's getting on that pitch, getting on the field. ‌ 'All his training is geared towards playing in tight areas, being comfortable when you're uncomfortable in possession. 'That can't be replicated with regards to the fans and the way that you'll feel. 'They'll feel nervousness taking the ball on the 18-yard box with somebody closing them down. 'It'll take time for the Rangers fans to understand the style of play. I think it did for us under Mark Warburton as well. There was a lot of nervy moments when we passed the ball about the back. 'But it was just the style of play. So I think getting on the pitch is the most important thing for Russell Martin.' * Cammy Bell was speaking as he helped launch the Refugee World Cup Scotland tournament, on Sunday, June 29, at Toryglen Regional Football Centre.

Leader Live

a day ago

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Wrexham AFC's Championship rivals announce new managers

That is a third of the 24 clubs in the second tier electing to have a new boss on the touchline for the 2025-26 campaign. Bristol City (Liam Manning - Gerhard Struber), Hull City (Ruben Selles - Sergej Jakirovic), Middlesbrough (Michael Carrick - TBA), Norwich City (Jack Wilshere - Liam Manning), Sheffield United (Chris Wilder - Ruben Selles), Southampton (Simon Rusk - Will Still), Watford (Tom Cleverley - Paulo Pezzolano) and West Brom (James Morrison - Ryan Mason) have hired over the summer. Phil Parkinson, who led Wrexham to runners-up spot in League One last term to secure an historic third successive promotion, celebrates four years in the Racecourse hotseat on July 1 but many of his Championship counterparts are just starting out at their clubs. Bristol City were the latest side to announce a new man at the helm with Struber appointed as head coach. The 48-year-old Austrian, who had 11 months in charge at Barnsley during the 2019-20 season, has signed a three-year deal and will link up with the players when they return for pre-season training this week. Struber told the club's official website: 'I am very excited for the job here with great fans and a great team. I'm looking forward to a new task. 'The style of play here fits completely, especially developing young players. 'This is a very interesting group, and I think they did a great job last season and were very successful. Right now is the time to build and do everything we can to take us to the next level.' Struber, who lost his job at Cologne in May despite guiding the second-tier club to the brink of promotion to the Bundesliga, replaces Liam Manning following his departure for Norwich earlier this month after a sixth-placed finish and a 6-0 aggregate play-off semi-final defeat by Sheffield United.