Mansfield 'looked like a non-league club' - Garner

Andy Garner has been at Mansfield since November 2020

Mansfield Town first-team coach Andy Garner says they "looked like a non-league club" in their the defeat by Exeter City.

The Stags were beaten 2-0 following a 224-mile journey to the south west, their 13th League One game without a win and ninth defeat in that run.

Defeat left them 18th in the table, eight points clear of the relegation zone with 10 games to play, after being overtaken by Exeter following their win.

"It was a dreadful night, absolutely disgraceful," an angry Garner told BBC Radio Nottingham.

"I thought the first 15 minutes were amateur, absolute amateur - we looked like a non-league club, and that's no disrespect to non-league clubs."

Mansfield went into the match after stringing three draws together - against Burton, Wigan and Stevenage - but any momentum from that quickly drained away when goalkeeper Scott Flinders' early error enabled Demetri Mitchell put Exeter in front.

"I can't really put my finger on it after three good draws in the last three games," Garner said.

"So we stick to what we've got - our formation and what we've been doing because we've been doing alright - and then they come up and do this.

"I'm actually quite emotional and embarrassed to go and clap the fans [at full-time]. I don't know what they'll think but they've watched a team that's let them down."

'The players should give their money back'

With only two victories this year, and none since a 2-1 success at Stockport on 4 January, boss Nigel Clough has already described halting their slide down the table like trying to stop a "runaway train".

"We're still in a relegation battle," Garner said. "After three draws people might think we're safe. We've not told them that. We've said we need to get some results, got to get some wins.

"The first 10 minutes was the worst I've seen for a long, long time. We can't put our finger on it - we got three fantastic results and got a bit of pride back.

"There were too many performances out there nowhere near it. It's very hard to win a match when I would say when two out of 11 put a performance in.

He added: "There's a lot of anger. The players should see what they've got in their bank accounts and give their [the fans'] money back.

"We don't mind if you give everything and lose 1-0 but you can't put a performance like that in. Disgraceful."

Mansfield have two home games to come next - against Barnsley and Leyton Orient, who are both chasing potential play-off places.