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Mansfield Town manager Nigel Clough has admitted that he tried to sign Alfie May before the striker opted for a return to Doncaster Rovers earlier this summer. The Stags kick off their League One campaign on Saturday looking to improve on last season’s impressive 10th-placed finish. They host a Doncaster side who are also looking to kick on after settling in 14th in their first year back in the third tier. Grant McCann’s side will boast the services of May, who joined the South Yorkshire side on a season-long loan from Huddersfield Town in June. The 33-year-old was brought into the EFL by Rovers in 2017, where he spent three years before joining Cheltenham Town in 2020. Clough ‘Enquired’ About May It was at the Robins that the attacker made his name. Successive 20+ goal seasons saw Charlton Athletic come knocking, before another equally impressive return caught the eye of Birmingham City. May scored 16 times as the Blues stormed to a record breaking League One title win, which led to a move to Huddersfield last summer. However, he struggled with consistency at the Accu Stadium, leading to this season’s loan move. A number of clubs were interested in the veteran, including Mansfield. With Doncaster set to visit the One Call Stadium on Saturday, manager Clough admitted he was keen. Speaking to the media, he said: “Doncaster have brought in a very good striker in Alfie May. “They lost Luke Molyneux but their replacement is a proven goal-scorer at this level and I think he’s one an awful lot of teams, including ourselves, enquired about. But his family and emotional ties to Doncaster meant he wasn’t going anywhere else.” May has hit the ground running at Rovers. He scored on his competitive debut last weekend in a 1-1 draw against Stockport County in the Carabao Cup first round, where they eventually prevailed on penalties. Mansfield Business Shows Smart Planning Mansfield may have enquired about May but it is clear that he wasn’t the only striker in their plans. They have since brought in the evergreen duo of David McGoldrick and Michael Smith to strengthen their attacking line. Although 38-years-old, McGoldrick has shown no signs of slowing down and scored an impressive 18 times in all competitions for Barnsley last season. Meanwhile, Smith arrives on the back of three successive seasons in the Championship and having won three promotions from League One with Rotherham United and Sheffield Wednesday respectively.