Mansfield Town: Too early to say Stags have turned corner after four wins - Nigel Clough

Nigel Clough has been in charge at Mansfield for just over a year

Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough says it is too early to suggest his side have turned a corner despite four successive wins in all competitions.

Before starting the run, the Stags were winless in 14 matches and only above the bottom two on goal difference.

Saturday's 2-1 victory at Stevenage lifted them to 18th in League Two, five points clear of the relegation places.

"I still think we've got a lot of work to do," 55-year-old Clough told BBC Radio Nottingham.

"Four victories now puts a smile on everybody's face, but we've got three out of the next four (games) away from home.

"If you can't win, you don't lose, that's the sort of mantra we're trying to get across to the players, and we now need to build up a good unbeaten run, continuing it against Scunthorpe (on Saturday)."

Mansfield were badly affected by injuries during their long sequence of games without a victory.

And Clough said the belief which "everybody lost during that terrible run" was "slowly coming back".

However, their bad luck with injuries is continuing, with forward Danny Johnson unable to play against Stevenage after scoring a hat-trick against Newcastle's Under-21 side in the Papa John's Trophy last week.

"When he won the penalty for his hat-trick on Tuesday night, the goalie just caught him, he had a scan and he's nicked an ankle ligament," said Clough.

"We're hoping three to four weeks (out), something like that, best case scenario.

"It was certainly a blow, he's scored four goals in his last three games and then he gets this injury, but that's what it's been like since the end of August."