Stephen McLaughlin heads for Wembley with Mansfield

Stephen McLaughlin feels that the Mansfield Town squad is ‘the best I’ve been in’.

The Isle of Doagh man will feature for the Stags at Wembley in Saturday’s Sky Bet League Two play-off final against Port Vale.

McLaughlin was named as the Stags Supporters Player of the Season and scored the winner in the semi-final second leg against Northampton.

McLaughlin’s header secured a 1-0 win at Sixfields, meaning a 3-1 aggregate win. Now, they face Port Vale with promotion to League One the carrot.

“Everybody works together and we are amazing together,” McLaughlin said.

“We knew that once it clicked, that we were going to do something special and I think to get the play-offs from where we were is a great achievement.

“The dressing room is the best I have been in.”

Remarkably, Mansfield climbed the table after a 12-game winless run from mid-august to late October,

McLaughlin said: “On the pitch, when we went on that bad run [that saw the Stags languishing in the bottom two of the league], no one was panicking from the staff to the players.

“At the start of the season, a lot of things were happening. A good few new players came through the door as well, so it took time for them to settle down.”