LINDON MEIKLE will be out to silence his Mansfield Town critics when he faces his old club as a York City player.

The 26-year-old winger turned down a new contract at Field Mill over the summer to sign a two-year deal with the Minstermen having only started two Sky Bet League Two games for the Stags last season.

Meikle had earlier been a regular fixture in the Mansfield side that clinched the Conference Premier title during the previous campaign, having followed manager Paul Cox from part-timers Eastwood Town.

But Mansfield supporters turned against Meikle during his third year at the Nottinghamshire club and he will use that memory as an added incentive to impress in tomorrow’s contest.

He said: “I’m looking forward to the match and I’m glad I’m in the team to be starting as well.

“I owe a lot to the Mansfield manager in terms of the opportunities he gave me in football but I didn’t really get a chance during my first season in the Football League.

“I don’t really know if I’m out to prove a point to him, but there were a lot of people that doubted me at Mansfield, including a lot of the fans.

“Football’s all about proving people wrong and that’s how I like to live my life.

“I want to do that but, mainly, I am there to try to win three points for the team and, even if I’m having a bad game, I will be working hard to help get those points.”

Mansfield have become notorious for their long-ball game in recent years with Meikle previously citing the club’s style of play as a reason for his switch to Bootham Crescent.

He has now warned his City team-mates to be prepared for a “horrible” battle against his former employers, explaining: “They will be big, horrible, hard-working and direct.

“They’ve also got some good players that could hurt us as well.

“Matt Rhead is important for them because he’s a big presence and good with his head in the penalty box.

“Ollie Palmer is also a good player but it looks like both of them might be injured. Regardless of that, it’s all about us and how we perform.

“The gaffer has stressed that since coming in, even though he does his homework on the opposition.”

Meikle is also desperate to repay Russ Wilcox after his swift recall to the first team having been dropped for the new manager’s first game in charge.

The ex-England ‘C’ international added: “He has shown a lot of faith by putting me back in the team and I’m starting to feel more confident, especially with the way we are playing, which is based on keeping the ball.

“He keeps talking to me every day in training, which is always a good thing.”

Meikle pointed out, meanwhile, that City’s improved display during Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Morecambe has given the third-bottom team renewed belief that they can climb up the division’s standings.

“The position we are in is massively false,” he argued. “We played Morecambe off the park before conceding that late goal.

“That’s something we’ve got to work on but some of their lads thought we were the best footballers they’ve played all season and they’d just been to Burton and beaten them, so hearing stuff like that is good.

“As a team, we’ve all got a lot of confidence after Tuesday’s performance, so we will be going for all three points.”