Hawley hat in ring as Stags boss Murray ponders over new No.2

Murray has already cast a good eye over over youth coach Scott Rickards on the first team bench over the past month as well as speaking to some more experienced names.

Last weekend at Leyton Orient, striker coach Karl Hawley was able to throw his hat into the ring with his first afternoon on the first team bench and Murray said: “It was good. “Obviously Karl has been in daily for the last month now and has built a good bond with the players.

“He obviously knows the league inside out, which is important for me. He has played at the level.

“Karl has been promoted from the level, so he knows the level very well.

“It was good experience for me to see him in that environment and to see him in the dressing room on a matchday. So it worked well and is more food for thought.”

On making his mind up, he said: “It will be in the next couple of weeks. I doubt it will be before Saturday.

“It’s the same with the players – I want everything done so the football club, the supporters and myself all know where we are for next season and we can plan for what we need to do.

“There will be a couple of signings that won’t happen straight away as the players I am talking to at the minute have got offers from other clubs as well. So we’ve got to do a bit more work on them and be a bit more patient with them.

“But I think we’ve seen this season we are lacking a couple of ingredients to this team.

“They have been fantastic but, like any team, we want to progress and move on again next season.”