MANSFIELD Town boss Paul Cox believes his players showed they now have the mentality to mount a promotion push this season.
The Stags hammered Dartford 5-0 at the One Call Stadium on Saturday to move to sixth in the Blue Square Bet Premier and three points off the play-offs with games in hand.
It was a third successive win but despite being 1-0 up at the break, they put in a poor performance and boss Cox said they were lucky not to be behind after 45 minutes.
It led to some harsh words from the manager at the interval and the players also expressed their views.
And it worked, as they came out in rampant mood and totally transformed as they motored to a convincing win.
Cox said: "We were lucky not to lose the game in the first half, we rode our luck.
"I had plenty to say in there at the break but we have some winners in that dressing room who were harsh on each other and that makes me smile sometimes because to be successful, you have to be hard on yourself and they were.
"They chucked my words down my throat and down each other's throats with a good second-half performance.
"It was a proper team performance in the second half and everybody was working for each other. There is a good spirit at the minute. It is positive."
The Stags entertain Barrow this Saturday before games come thick and fast, every Saturday and Tuesday.
Cox added: "Whether we scored five or one, I was happy with the lads for getting back to the standards they have been setting of late. But we can improve on a million and one things.
"We hit that kind of form last season and I talk about coming around the bend and hopefully we are hitting form at the right time, but we are not getting carried away."