Plenty of four-letter words would have summed up this latest shambles quite aptly.

Stuart McCall, for public consumption at least, chose one with three: Why?

A whole lot more had been said behind the home dressing-room door, which would have been bending on its hinges from the heated invective in the half hour after the final whistle.

But McCall admits his script for a 30-minute lock-in needs refreshing. Like a stuck record, he is left saying the same things to the same culprits every other week.

There was only one change from the side that had scrapped to victory at Chester three days before, yet City played like strangers.

The ghosts of Dagenham, Bury and Rochdale were back in force. Once again, McCall had to concede that the opposition wanted it more.

Imagine how that must hurt such a proud warrior; someone whose commitment for the claret and amber cause could never, ever be questioned.

Now he currently finds himself guilty of association with a group of under-achieving players who seem content to bob around mid-table.

That is McCall's view and he finds it totally unacceptable - and when he reaches the point of wishing the rest of the season away, you know the scale of his frustration.

Never one to throw the towel in as a player, he finds himself in the horrible position of effectively doing exactly that in his first term in management.

His old Sheffield United boss Neil Warnock used to keep out-of-contract players sweating until the last minute. It was common for him to hide the retained list under wraps until the Monday after the season was finished.

McCall has been tempted to follow the same route, arguing that hungry players are effective players. Seeing the way Omar Daley's performance has slackened off since penning his new deal in January was a warning against allowing others to slip into the comfort zone.

But nobody would blame the City chief if he changed his mind and told those he wants out the door to start packing their kit bags.

The players can hardly argue they have not been given enough opportunities. Every fan will agree that McCall has been more than fair with a side that has been wedged in the bottom half of the Coca-Cola Football League Two since late September. What has he got in return?

Ronnie Moore used to moan about inconsistent performances that were Real Madrid one week; Fray Bentos the next. City's displays alter by the half.

When asked about setting a target for the remaining ten games, McCall simply shrugged: "I can't even set them a target for the next 45 minutes.

"You see a performance like the Rotherham game the other week and think that maybe we're only a couple of players off a decent team. Then you have a game like that and see we're miles away."

McCall had laughed on Friday when somebody suggested to him this was a home banker. In this division? Here?

But don't take anything away from Mansfield, who - like Dagenham a fortnight earlier - turned up brimming with the determination of a side fighting for their lives. Their neanderthal "Eng-er-land" followers aside, everything about their game was spot on.

In Michael Boulding, the Stags also possess a livewire striker who spells constant danger for defenders. He was much admired in City's corridors of power before Saturday; if available, the former Yorkshire county tennis player would surely be an ace in McCall's pack.

Boulding fittingly set up the first Mansfield goal and then notched the winner; a scruffy finish to settle a scruffy game.

Football is never much fun to watch in swirling rain. The joyless performance of their side just added to the misery for the suffering Valley Parade faithful.

Boulding had already had a sighter at goal when Mansfield went one up after 15 minutes.

He totally wrong-footed Darren Williams on halfway with a clever dummy before slipping a pass inside TJ Moncur to strike partner Nathan Arnold. The youngster's shot clipped David Wetherall and flew past Scott Loach from 20 yards out for his first strike since November.

As the grumbles from the stands began to materialise, City should have fallen further behind. It was Boulding again running in unseen to meet a cross by John Mullins but putting his free header wide of goal.

That let-off inspired some kind of resistance, Barry Conlon testing Mansfield's second-choice keeper Jason White with a curling left-footer, but in truth the save was more spectacular than it needed to be.

White, making his first start since October, looked edgy and constantly opted to punch rather than catch - but inevitably it was a sky-blue Mansfield shirt that always picked up the loose ball as City rarely threatened to exploit his unease.

Paul Evans and Eddie Johnson had done a fine enforcing job at the Deva Stadium but when McCall challenged them to back it up on Saturday, the duo came up short.

They were not alone in another awful first half. The front pair struggled to hold the ball up; the wingers never ran at their markers; the full backs were uncomfortable against Mansfield's breaks - and yet City somehow went into the break level.

Two minutes into added time and Will Atkinson was penalised for a high challenge on Johnson. Paul Heckingbottom whipped the free-kick into the box and Conlon's header caught White in no-man's land as it looped into the top corner.

It was tough on Mansfield but City, given such an unexpected break, should have capitalised. Instead they allowed the Stags to regain their advantage within six minutes of the restart.

Arnold's deep cross was not dealt with as it dropped to Stephen Dawson by the penalty spot and then fell into the path of Boulding. His connection was hardly the best as the ball squirted against the near post before rebounding along the line and nestling in the netting the other side.

City's response was frenzied at times as Mansfield were penned into their own half but frantic pressure did not produce enough clear-cut openings.

Wetherall's deft header from a corner landed a yard or so the wrong side of the far post. Then the best fell to Willy Topp, engineered with a great turn and step-over, but a wild thrash into the Kop ensured the Chilean's frustrating wait for a first City goal goes on.

His team's performance had been equally awry all day.

BRADFORD CITY	MANSFIELD TOWN
34 Scott Loach	1 Jason White
2 Darren Williams	2 John Mullins
3 Paul Heckingbottom	3 Gareth Jelleyman
4 Paul Evans	7 Matthew Hamshaw
5 David Wetherall	8 Stephen Dawson
8 Eddie Johnson	11 Mickey Boulding
9 Barry Conlon	12 Jake Buxton
10 Peter Thorne	13 Alex John-Baptiste
11 Alex Rhodes	16 Nathan Arnold
15 Joe Colbeck	22 Will Atkinson
35 Thomas Moncur	4 Jonathan D'Laryea
SUBSTITUTES	SUBSTITUTES
6 Mark Bower	14 Dan Martin for 16 (90)
7 Omar Daley for 11 (71)	24 Chris Wood
18 Tom Penford for 4 (62)	20 Jefferson Louis for 22 (64)
22 Kyle Nix	30 Rory Boulding
23 Willy Topp for 15 (68)	27 Keith Briggs for 7 (76)

MATCH OFFICIALS:
Referee:	S Mathieson
Assistant Referee:	G Hilton
Assistant Referee:	I Nolan
4th Official:	K D Lawson

GOALSCORERS:
BRADFORD CITY	MANSFIELD TOWN
Conlon (45)	Arnold (14)
	Boulding M (51)
	.

DISCIPLINARY:
BRADFORD CITY	MANSFIELD TOWN
	.