Mansfield Town fighting Matty Blair recall temptation

But Blair, who suffered a serious knee injury in January, will not be in Saturday’s squad at Luton Town.

“Matty Blair has joined in full training now and he is probably tempting me a bit too much because he looks strong,” said Murray.

“He took a couple of kicks yesterday from Mal (Benning) as he was up against Mal as a left back and Mal had a bad morning – put it that way.

“Blairy is looking sharp. I am sure he’s got stronger and quicker which benefits us. It’s just a case of being patient with him now. We want to get him in, he wants to go in, but we need to bide our time and make sure we do it at the right time.”

Murray will resist bringing Blair back on Saturday and play the long game.

“It is a temptation,” he said. “But at the same time we are not stupid. We are seven games in. There is a lot of football to be played and Matt will play a big part in that.

“It’s about biding our time. Saturday is a game in which we are going to have to go there and be organised and solid in. We will go there as underdogs, so the team selection and formation we go with will be one of positivity but also one of respect to the environment we are going into. So we have to be careful when we put Matt in.”