Mansfield Town slipped to their first away defeat of the season this weekend, going down 3-2 in a thriller at Carlisle.

They played a majority of the game with ten men following Neil Bishop's first half dismissal, but despite the defeat they're still well placed to launch an assaults on the play-off spots.

 

Third place Bury meet second place MK Dons this weekend, giving them an opportunity to make up ground on one of them, or maybe even both.

They're also likely to be fending off interest in their players, with CJ Hamilton the subject of speculation which CEO Carolyn Radford moved to quell this week. Coupled with the possibility of a Nottingham Forest recall for Tyler Walker, these are going to be challenging times for Mansfield fans.

They'll be hoping the defeat was merely a blip no their otherwise excellent record and that the transfer window brings players to the club who can make a difference.

We look at three who they could realistically target.

 

McDonald has been with Yeovil, but the tricky winger didn't get many opportunities to shine there and he's now a free agent.

He would make great back up for CJ Hamilton, should the bids increase to a level that can no longer be rejected.

The former West Brom man has just been released by Oldham, but his robust presence certainly has a place in League Two.

Tyler Walker could work well with him, offering another threat and hopefully bringing the goals to turn their numerous draws into wins.

Nadeson has been with Carlisle, scoring eight times this season, but he's now heading back to Fleetwood.

It could be he is available for transfer and his pace and guile would be a great fit for the current Mansfield attack.