Hasselbaink praise for Burton

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink admitted Burton were tested to the full in a 2-1 victory over Mansfield on Saturday.

Burton had to withstand a second-half fightback by a Stags side that included five debutants after a hectic week of transfer dealings by manager Adam Murray. Albion boss Hasselbaink said: "I knew it was going to be hard because they had five new players who wanted to impress - and they did. "I think if they continue to play like they did in this game they are going to cause a lot of teams problems." The former Chelsea striker also had words of praise for his men for hanging on to the three points after Reggie Lambe halved a half-time lead given to Burton by Matt Palmer and Kelvin Maynard. He added: "You can take nothing away from Mansfield because they came here with a game plan and they tested us. "We conceded a rare goal from a throw-in, but in the last 15 minutes we looked solid as a unit and proved difficult to break down, so I'm not going to criticise my players. "At times we really had to dig in as a team and work hard. "It was not pretty but we got the three points, which was the most important thing." Palmer and Maynard scored the first league goals of their careers in a 16-minute spell. The opener came from Palmer in the eighth minute when he found the far corner of the net with a free-kick from the angle of the area. And it was from his corner that Maynard rose unchallenged to power in a six-yard header. The Stags were back in the contest six minutes after the break when a Michael Raynes header was turned home by Lambe from close range, ending Burton's run of four successive clean sheets. Mansfield boss Murray consoled himself with "plenty of positives" despite seeing his side slip to within four points of the relegation zone. He said: "The first half was poor by our standards and we conceded two really bad goals. "The free-kick has gone straight in and the second goal was a free header from a corner, which ruined the game for us. "There were a couple of apologies at half-time, but I asked for a reaction and I thought I got it. "We spent most of the second half in their half, which just adds to the frustration. "You could tell there were players in there who hadn't played together before, but there were a lot of plus points and positives we can take from the game. "We've come away to a team second in the table and dominated the second half without being ruthless enough in the 18-yard box. "But the real frustration is when you come off at the end and the opposition manager says his team were lucky."