Stags sign Leeds midfielder on loan
MANSFIELD Town boss David Holdsworth has moved to plug his central midfield hole by signing Leeds United midfielder Oliver Hotchkiss.
Hotchkiss grabs Stags chance with both handsOLLIE Hotchkiss could already be winding down for his summer break were he drifting along in the reserves of his parent club Leeds United.
He could be thinking of beaches and swimming pools, a nice cool beer and an ice cream in the sun.
Yet, instead, the youngster has taken himself out of the comfort zone to focus his mind on a loan spell with Mansfield Town at Field Mill.
The holidays can wait.
Talking to the enthusiastic Hotchkiss, it is clear he is thoroughly enjoying his temporary stay in north Notts, particularly now he has broken into boss David Holdsworth's starting line-up.
And, even though there are only two games to go, neither of which mean a great deal in terms of Mansfield's position in the table, he is just as excited about playing in them as when he made his debut against Ebbsfleet.
The Sunderland-born teenager feels he has already learned so much by playing in the Blue Square Premier – and he wants that education to continue.
"It's been great at Mansfield and the gaffer (David Holdsworth) has been really good to me," said Hotchkiss.
"I had to be patient at first but I feel I have done all right since getting in the team and I have enjoyed what I have done.
"I can't wait to play the last two games of the season. I have played for Leeds reserves, but this is a much better standard.
"The Blue Square Premier is a really good standard, as well as tough and physical where you get pushed about a bit.
"The manager has helped me along and given me guidance and the rest of the lads have been great too."
Hotchkiss, 19, felt Mansfield did enough to win at Woking on Saturday, where the Stags had to settle for a 2-2 draw.
He was pleased with his own performance too, setting up Rob Duffy's 80th minute equaliser with a pinpoint cross from the left flank.
He said: "I hit a few crosses and some didn't come off, but when I got the ball from Ryan (Williams) I knew what I wanted to do.
"I saw Rob was in space at the back post and he has stuck it away superbly. He turned a good cross into an even better goal.
"He also came up with another fantastic goal and we did enough to win it.
"We should have had a penalty for handball and Nathan Arnold missed a great chance but it was a good performance and we put the run of away defeats to bed."
With a year left on his Leeds contract, Hotchkiss is determined to fight for a first-team future at Elland Road.
But first he will be giving his all against Altrincham tonight and Stevenage on Sunday.
"It will be sad to go back to Leeds in a way. But we have the home games and we want to end on a high," said Hotchkiss.
"I've had one win (against Ebbsfleet) and a draw but we deserved to beat Barrow.
"The gaffer has drilled into us that the home form is vital and we don't want to lose one under him.
"I haven't got a clue what Altrincham are like but I'm confident in my manager and my players that we can beat anyone at Field Mill.
"You perhaps get a bit more time on the ball at home because teams come knowing that we have some quality in the side and can hurt them. We have to take advantage of that because we want to send the fans away for the summer happy."
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