Mansfield Town’s longest-serving player Mal Benning says winning promotion is the only thing missing in his career with the Stags.
Benning joined Mansfield in 2015 from Walsall where he had been handed his debut in professional football – four days after his 19th birthday – by then-Saddlers boss Dean Smith, who is now in charge at Aston Villa.
The left-back has been a mainstay in Mansfield’s side since he made the switch to Field Mill and has built a special relationship with Stags supporters, as players and managers have come and gone.
Benning, 27, will make the 300th appearance of his senior career if he features in Mansfield’s League Two clash with bottom-of-the-table Southend at Roots Hall on Saturday.
“One of my main targets is promotion with Mansfield. Whether I stay for the next 10 years or whether I go [one day] that is one thing I want to do, to get Mansfield promoted into League One,” Benning told Sky Sports News.
“But 300 games in professional football is a big milestone to hit to be honest. When I first started, I was just over the moon to get my pro, but then the reality kind of hits when the hard work starts, trying to make your debut. Luckily enough I was given my debut by Dean Smith, who is obviously doing really well at Villa now.
“I found it quite tough during my three years at Walsall. I was in and out of the team and I didn’t quite know where I was going after that, because I didn’t have many options if I am being honest once I did get released from Walsall after my three years pro there.
“Luckily enough Mansfield came along and it’s been a very good time for me, one of the best experiences of my career.
“As a club, and as a player myself, the way it has progressed over the five-and-a-bit years I have been here has been immense.
Mal Benning picked up the Young Player of the Year award at Walsall in 2014
“When I first joined, there wasn’t a proper training ground and stuff, so now as a club we have progressed. And as a player myself, I think I have come on leaps and bounds.”
Stags fans ‘make me play better’
Benning is on course make his 250th appearance in all competitions for Mansfield during the current campaign, and says he feeds off the passion of the Stags faithful, who affectionately refer to him as Sir Mal.
“As much as I played first-team football with Walsall for three years, Mansfield has got a really special place in my heart,” he said.
Mal Benning was named in the 2018-19 Sky Bet League Two Team of the Season
“The fans have been incredible, I’ll be honest, they have taken to me very well. They are the best set of fans I have experienced and the way that they are with me – it makes me play better if I’m honest.
“When you have fans on your side and you know that they have a good relationship with you, you want to do well for the team, you want to do well for the fans. As far as fans go, Stags fans are up there with the very best, definitely.”
Mansfield are the form side in the division and notched their fourth straight league victory with a 3-2 win at Oldham last time out.
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Manager Nigel Clough has paid tribute to long-serving left-back Benning, who came off the bench to make the 200th league appearance of his Mansfield career in the win at Boundary Park.
“Anybody who stays at a club in the modern era and plays 200 games shows a large degree of loyalty,” Clough said. “It’s a great achievement for him. I’m delighted for him.”
Benning: Dean Smith ‘one of the best’
Aston Villa head coach Smith is a former Walsall player who later cut his teeth in management at the Bescot Stadium where he spent almost six years in charge before taking over at Brentford in 2015.
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Smith operated on a shoestring budget at Walsall and focused on developing young players, handing Benning his first professional contract, as well as his league debut which came less than three months into the 2012-13 season.
“As a manager, Dean Smith is one of the best I have ever worked for,” Benning said.
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“Obviously at Walsall, he had a limited budget, but when I look back, at the time I was very young and I did not know much about football.
“I’ve experienced a lot of managers over the years – I’ve had some very good ones [at Mansfield] – David Flitcroft, Steve Evans, Adam Murray, and we have Nigel Clough now, who is a big name for Mansfield.
“But when I look back at what Dean Smith did at Walsall, I can see why he is doing so well now and I hope it continues for him. He is doing an incredible job.”
