FA CUP: Cox laments poor start by Guiseley on Stags return

His struggling National League side were shot down by a Jimmy Spencer hat-trick, but played a huge part in their own downfall after two red cards either side of the break.

READ THE MATCH REPORTREAD STEVE EVANS’ VIEWS“We came into a big game with a great following and never got to grips with it, even from the start,” said Cox.

“We came up against a side that played with a high tempo – you have to Mansfield a bit of credit.

“But I’m just disappointed we didn’t really apply ourselves right in the first half.

“Second half you go down to 10 men and then nine men and then you’re basically chasing the game and it’s damage limitation with all due respect.

“We should have imposed ourselves on the game at the start.”

Cox had no arguments over the second red card, Chris M’Boungou walking for a second yellow card, but he wanted to see a replay of the tackle that saw Darren Holden given a straight red.

Cox side: “I have no qualms with the result though I think the referee should have a five second think about decisions – I found some of them strange but they had no bearing on our first 30 minute performance in the first half.

“I will have a look at the first one again. I though Darren Holden slipped and it more clumsy. I will see if it was as dangerous as everyone was making out.

“The game was an uphill task from there. I have got to be honest the second one probably was a second booking – I’ll give him that one.”

Cox added: “Our main goal is to keep the club in this league. If I achieve that it will be my biggest success – and I’ve won a few leagues.

“It’s not about what happened today. It’s learning from it to make sure we stay up.”