Taft delighted by quality of Stags' signings

Taft was speaking after the 3-2 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday in which he scored Stags’ first goal.

And having been pleased with how his side dealt with their Championship opponents, he praised the impact his new team-mates have had.

He said: “The quality that has come in is amazing and the mood in training has risen again amongst those of us here last year.

“It’s getting us all excited again. It will hopefully be an exciting year and we have a squad I hope can push at the top.

“With so many new players it makes it feel like we’re all new in a sense but the vibe is really good amongst the whole squad.”

Taft equalised in the first-half and Rhys Bennett added a second with ten minutes to go, but goals from Jordan Rhodes, Tom Lees and Lucas Joao won the game for Wednesday.

Taft added: “It was good to get 45 minutes in the tank. We were up against good opposition who will be right up challenging again this season so to play against a squad with such strength and to come close to beating them was encouraging.

“It’s good that a strong squad like ours can produce a good display like that against a team as strong as Wednesday and bodes well.

“The bonds and communication is building as we get closer to the season which is important with so many new players.”