John Radford: Mansfield Town owner targets automatic promotion to League One
- Published
John Radford has owned Mansfield Town since 2010
Mansfield Town owner John Radford has targeted automatic promotion to League One this season after falling short a number of times in recent years.
The Stags lost the 2022 League Two play-off final, and missed out on automatic promotion on the last day of the season in 2019.
They have now gone a club record 11 league games unbeaten at the start of this season.
"I'd like a top-three finish - all Mansfield fans would," Radford said.
"Every club would give that same sort of answer, but we have had a good start.
"It's a sound foundation for the season and hopefully that continues."
While they are seventh in League Two after four wins and seven draws in 11 games, they are a point outside the top three and just four points off the summit.
And after Arsenal were defeated by Lens in the Champions League on Tuesday, Mansfield are the only side in England's top four divisions to remain unbeaten in all competitions this season.
Mansfield manager Nigel Clough was handed a new one-year contract in May, just days after his side missed out on the play-offs by a single goal.
A year earlier, the former Sheffield United and Derby County boss took the Stags to the Wembley play-off decider, where they lost to Port Vale.
When Clough signed his latest deal, he spoke about challenging again.
"Nigel knows that we are after a top-three finish - we don't want to go to Wembley," Radford told BBC Radio Nottingham.
"The team are doing what I requested of them at the start of the season.
"Playing the football they are playing at the moment, we can't moan. It's exciting, it's good to watch.
"I know as chairman there will be blips along the way and things can go wrong, and that is why football is so exciting - you can't predict anything."
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