“I think we’ll probably make seven or eight changes, through necessity in a lot of areas due to injuries,” manager Stuart McCall told iFollow Iron ahead of the Checkatrade Trophy group stage clash at Mansfield Town on Tuesday night (7.45pm kick-off).
The encounter at the One Call Stadium is the final Group H fixture, with United knowing anything other than a defeat will see them safely through to round two.
McCall explained in his pre-match interview some of the changes which will likely be made to the team that defeated Burton Albion 2-1 in the Emirates FA Cup first round on Saturday.
“Ike (Ugbo) played in a previous round for Chelsea, and George Thomas, though he came off injured, is away with Wales so they'll be unavailable,” added the boss.
“It’s an opportunity for the lads who haven’t had much football to go and perform at a good level. Funso (Ojo) will be back and it’s a game we’re looking forward to.
“We’ll play it by ear with Funso. He’s trained with us for a week or so now but it’s only in the last couple of days where he’s got to maximum. In an ideal world it would be great if he could get the full 90 minutes but we’ll monitor him and see how he’s feeling from there really.
“Mansfield have a good pitch and they played a game on Sunday against Charlton (in the FA Cup), drawing that, and have already qualified (in this competition). We just have to concentrate on ourselves. We know a draw gets us through but we won’t be playing for one - we want to win the game and finish top of the group if we can.
“You always want a winning mentality at your club and on the back of Saturday it would be nice to go and get another victory.
“The lads coming in will want to stake a claim - there are lads like Stephen Humphrys and (Andy) Dales in the forward areas, while big Kyle (Wootton) will be looking forward to making his mark too. James Horsfield will get a start as well, as will Clayton (Lewis), Yas (Ben El-Mhanni) and young Pughy (Tom Pugh) will travel with us too.
“There are lots of lads who haven’t been playing who will be itching to show what they can do.
“All these lads are fit but haven’t had many matches so it’s been hard to judge them. They’re looking forward to going out, doing their best and putting in a good performance.”
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