Evans still on good terms with Corney

STEVE EVANS . . . the Mansfield Town boss turned down the chance to manage Athletic

MANSFIELD Town manager Steve Evans has revealed that he still keeps in touch with Athletic chairman Simon Corney on a regular basis.

Evans came within a whisker of agreeing to become the club's new manager before having a change of heart.

Now boss of the League Two outfit, his side will meet Athletic in the last 16 of the Checkatrade Trophy on Tuesday, January 10 (7.45pm kick-off).

"Obviously I had the opportunity to join them back in the summer and I still keep in touch with the chairman probably three or four times a week - we message and speak to each other," Evans told the Mansfield Chad.

'REASONS'

"I don't think either of us thought it would be great if we meet each other (in the Trophy), but we are looking forward to it.

"One of the things about Oldham and one of the reasons I considered joining them is their supporters are much like here, same as Rotherham and Leeds fans, salt of the earth and say it as it is. It was an attraction.

"It is an opportunity for both clubs to take another step nearer to what is ultimately a dream day. But you have to have a lot of other days that some people don't want to know about to achieve that dream."

Evans also hinted that should the opportunity to manage Athletic arise again, he might take it.

"I just changed my mind," he added. "Something didn't feel right, I don't know what it was.

"The chairman is terrific. I was talking to (Mansfield chairman) John Radford about Simon Corney - I met him on a number of occasions.

"They are good people and I went round the place two or three times.

"I just woke up on the day it was due to be happening later that day and it just didn't feel right. I couldn't go into any football club if it just didn't feel right.

"He accepted my explanation at the time and I said it may be in the future as the one thing I did respect was the football club."

Meanwhile, Lee Croft reckons Athletic could go all the way to Wembley this season.

WINGER

The in-form winger scored a rare goal in last week's 3-1 victory at Walsall in which the team recovered from a goal down to book a place in the next round.

Croft lasted only 23 minutes of last year's 0-0 draw in the first round of the FA Cup at Mansfield and hopes to have better luck in his next outing.

"At Walsall, we didn't play particularly well, but we scored three goals to win 3-1 and make it through to the next round," Croft said.

"It's a great chance to get to Wembley and a lot of people might not get that chance again, so it's something we are really pushing for.

"I remember last time at Mansfield coming on and then coming off again with an ankle injury. It's definitely a winnable tie if we play well."