Nigel Clough: Mansfield's League Two play-off final 'not just a Wembley day out'

Nigel Clough is in his first full season in charge of Mansfield Town

Boss Nigel Clough says there will "nervous tension" as he leads Mansfield Town out at Wembley in an attempt to return the Stags to the third tier for the first time in 19 years.

They face Port Vale in the League Two play-off final on Saturday.

Clough said a trip to the national stadium is "rewarding for everyone" after a chaotic season which saw them occupy a relegation spot in October.

"We're not going for a weekend out," he said. "It's only rewarding if we win."

A 14-game winless run in all competitions left Mansfield in the relegation places and equal on points with then bottom side Scunthorpe in October.

The Stags, however, were catapulted up the table after notching up a club record 11 consecutive home league wins.

They were in contention for automatic promotion until the final day of the season, and eventually had to settle for a seventh-placed finish and play-off spot despite beating title winners Forest Green Rovers in their last regular season game.

Mansfield then went on to beat Northampton in both home and away legs of their play-off semi-final to book their first trip to Wembley since losing the FA Trophy final to Darlington in 2011.

"It's been a long 10 months working towards to this," Clough told BBC Radio Nottingham.

"We just want to perform somewhere near our best on Saturday, that's the aim more than anything else."