BACK-to-back victories for the first time this season saw the Dragons overcome Mansfield Town and start to get people believing that a late promotion push could be on th cards.

"That was a good win for us and sets us up for a run of three more games against Eastbourne, Tamworth and Chester City," said Dean Saunders.

"If we go in with the same attitude at Eastbourne on Saturday, then we could be back in the race.

"The first goal was another great pass from Christian Smith, another side to his game, to Wes Baynes, who at 11 o'clock this morning wasn't playing due a blinding headache, but I spoke ot him nicely and he took some tablets.

"So he went out there tonight and played well, taking his goal like we practice at in training, smacking it low, alright through the keeper's legs, but it was a great goal.

"They looked dangerous at times when they came at us. But when the equaliser went in so soon after half time, I could have headed back up the tunnel.

"I had walked through that situation with them in training, but the lad still gets in front of one of our players and scores.

"We showed terrific determination after taking a blow like that, but we came back and Andy Mangan has scored a goal that you just can't coach.

"As I have said all along, there has been nothing wrong with our football and if we want to go forward then we need to be signing players like him. A goalscorer who's in the right place at the right time.

"He's the first one to react and he could have scored a similar one in the first half, but the goalkeeper has made a great save.

"They are a big team and at the end we were hanging on, but having said that they didn't create many clear chances.

"For me we weren't winning enough headers when the ball was coming in the box."

The only downside of the night was a second yellow for Christian Smith, which will see him banned for Saturday's visit to Eastbourne.

"The referee said that he impeded their lad, but it seemed harsh ad he didn't touch anyone," he said.

"It's a shame we can't appeal against a second yellow, because the lad is playing well and we'll miss him.

"He has had his critics, but he puts his head in, never shirks a tackle, covers the ground and at the minute he wants to win - he's playing really well."

New boy Luke Holden certainly hit the ground running.

"He was terrific and has got a good character," said Dean.

"He has an opinion, he talks and has a bit of aggression. He certainly never let the game bypass him, he took part in the match and how he never scored from the one he put in the second half I don't know.

"At the end he seemed to be feeling his thigh, I hope it was cramp and not a hamstring, because we lost Sakho this morning to groin strain, while Jamie McCluskey has played with a hamstring problem.

"We have now got the bit between our teeth and we are going in the right direction."

And it's a direction that the boss was always confident that the team would eventually head along.

"While we don't want to be in low league position, I knew that once we found a goalscorer we would start shooting up the table," he said.

"We concede very few goals, but had not been taking our chaces at the other end.

"How many could we have scored tonight, five or six?"