Mansfield Town have won the Programme Of The Year award for Sky Bet League Two, chosen by highly-acclaimed Programme Monthly.

It is the first time the Stags have claimed the League Two award from Programme Monthly and follows an accolade for best programme by Sports Trader magazine last season.

In their critique of the programme, titled The Stag, the panel said the publication was quality on all fronts.

“Behind The Scenes is a nice two-page photo feature based around a particular fixture, followed by a two-page review of the game,” wrote Programme Monthly, as part of its analysis of all 23 League Two clubs.

“The feature player interview runs for five pages and there is good coverage of the under-21 side, including a player profile. Rather unusually, a feature on his team-mates’ habits is conducted with one of the youth side, and there is coverage of the ladies’ team as well.

“The Stags A-Z sees one of the current squad answer questions related to each letter of the alphabet.

“The visitors’ section runs for nine pages and is a delight, including the current squad presented in Top Trumps card style, a scouting report and three pages of retro content.

“A standout feature is Getting Shirty, focusing on a particular Stags kit, while ‘On This Day reproduces newspaper cuttings related to the club and the local area.

“Stags Uncut is a good spread of photos from the past, before Stags In Shot has photos of a past player.

“Statzone 2017/18 is the final content, a page of information nicely presented. A lot of variety, reading and imagination. Mansfield’s programme is quality on all fronts.”

The Stag’s editor, Mark Stevenson, said: “The club receives this award with great pride. It is the equivalent of the Oscars for programme editors.

“In each edition, we endeavour to showcase a club that is on the rise in all areas, with exclusive features and not-before-seen content.

“The publication’s recently-departed deputy editor, Matthew Joule, deserves great credit for his significant input, along with sub-editor Howard Staley.

“Chris and Jeanette Holloway – our official photographers – have provided first-class imagery throughout the season for the programme and our digital media channels and deserve huge credit.

“My thanks are extended to Paul Taylor and Martin Shaw, whose historical knowledge and photographs of the club have been invaluable to call upon.”