Mansfield Town appoint Paul Cox as manager

Cox led Eastwood to two promotions in five seasons

Mansfield Town have appointed former Eastwood Town manager Paul Cox as their new boss on a one-year contract.

The 39-year-old succeeds Duncan Russell, whose short-term deal was not renewed at the end of the season.

Cox resigned as Badgers boss in May after guiding them to a fourth-place finish in the Blue Square Bet North.

"It's a massive club with an infrastructure and fan base geared to be a Football League club," Cox told BBC Radio Nottingham.

"I want to get my teeth into it and achieve promotion."

"I'm looking forward to starting. I want to put the club on the map - I put an honest plan together, which I feel the club can achieve."

Chairman John Radford said: "He is a very ambitious manager and a winner. I know that he understands my vision, and believes in what we want to achieve."

Cox has beaten off competition from six other candidates to land the job, including current caretaker Paul Hall, whose future at Field Mill remains unclear.

Radford added: "Paul has a wealth of knowledge of non-league football and has lined up some exciting prospects to join our squad.

"We have set Paul a target of a top-five finish and we would like the fans to get fully behind the new manager.

"We can now look forward to the new season with fresh ideas and new faces on display at the Mill."

Mansfield had a disappointing campaign in the Blue Square Bet Premier in 2010/11, finishing in 13th position.

Russell did take the Stags to Wembley for the FA Trophy final but Radford said that the decision to let him go was taken because league results had not been good enough.

In five seasons as manager at Eastwood, Cox led the club to two promotions and, in 2009, took them to the third round of the FA Cup.

But despite guiding them to the play-offs this season, he stepped down after the club were denied the chance to compete because their ground did not meet Blue Square Bet Premier standards.