Walsall job link a pat on the back for players - Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray

The Stags boss was linked with the vacant manager’s post at the League One high-flyers and he said: “I’ve had no contact from Walsall.

“But it just proves how well the group is doing. For any manager at any level at any club to be linked with a vacancy, especially in a higher league, it shows your club is doing well.

“It’s not just about me as a manager, it’s credit to the players more than anybody. I drive the ship, but they are the ones that have to carry out the game plans and put the performances in.

“So it is a good pat on the back for the football club in general. It shows we are getting a little bit noticed now for what we are doing.”

Murray admitted he has ambition to go as far as he can, but has a real passion to take Mansfield Town forward.

“Here, the journey has only just begun for me,” he said. “It’s not something that’s an overnight thing. I have only just turned 34. I have expectations and ambitions to be the best I can.

“At the minute I have a real drive inside me to improve this football club. In this first year we’ve done that – we’ve brought it on leaps and bounds in every aspect we can.

“It’s just the start for me of a journey that we want to take forward and experience a lot more highs. I am in a good place.

“Because of the expectations of Mansfield Town, even in the tough times, we are expected to win every game, and you have to use that as a positive.

“Sometimes it can be a tough place to work but is a place you never get to rest on your laurels. You have to be on your toes as a player, as a coach and as a manager and on your game at all times.

“If I am being selfish, that makes me better.”