At the time of writing, Keillor-Dunn has managed 19 goals and eight assists in 40 appearances for Mansfield, as the Stags look to gain promotion to League One. His performances from an advanced midfield position have earned great plaudits, too, with his manager Nigel Clough providing him with the confidence and freedom to excel.
Now, Keillor-Dunn's season has been recognised by FFT as the most impressive in League Two this term - though for the 26-year-old, there's still work to be done...
Mansfield Town midfielder Davis Keillor-Dunn wins FourFourTwo's best player in League Two for 2023/24 award
Davis Keillor-Dunn of Mansfield Town (Image credit: Getty Images)
FFT: Congratulations, Davis: you’ve been voted FFT’s best player in League Two! Keillor-Dunn: Brilliant, I’m pleased with that! It’s nice to be recognised by fans of other clubs, too, not just our fans at Mansfield.
By the end of February, you’d posted 17 goals and five assists – how pleased have you been with your season?
Happy, but a bit disappointed not to get even more. I’m hypercritical of myself. When I joined the club in January last year, Nigel Clough told me to express myself in my preferred position: attacking midfield, behind the strikers.
And Mansfield are in with a genuine promotion chance, battling the likes of Wrexham, Stockport and MK Dons after missing out on last year’s play-offs by one goal... When you miss out by a goal, you think about chances you’ve missed, wondering, ‘What if?’. The manager said he didn’t want any play-offs this time – he wanted to be in the top three. That’s been our motivation. League Two is the toughest it’s ever been, but I’ve enjoyed it. Recently we’ve beaten Harrogate 9-2 and Salford 5-1 – goals galore.
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Davis Keillor-Dunn of Mansfield Town (Image credit: Getty Images)
You basically toured the North East in your youth, right?
I was contracted to Newcastle from seven before moving to Middlesbrough for compensation at 12. I came out of academy football at 16, as I didn’t enjoy that. I signed for Sunderland at 17 or 18 – I’m a massive Sunderland fan – but nothing materialised and I went to Chesterfield, then Scotland with Ross County, so it’s been an adventure. That was five-and-a-half hours from home, leaving friends and family, but football was what I wanted to do.
When you joined Wrexham in January 2020, you helped them to avoid slipping out of the National League – and then they were taken over in November... I still get thank-you messages from Wrexham fans! I only played six matches. We picked up a couple of wins, then COVID stopped the season and it was decided on points per game. It was a difficult decision to leave – I signed for Oldham purely because they were in League Two. I scored 11 in my first season there and 17 in the second, but there were problems with the ownership – a transfer embargo, many distractions – and we were relegated.
You’ve been linked with Championship clubs like Hull, QPR and Millwall this season. Flattering? It’s nice, but I never believe anything until I sign a contract and it’s down to me to keep my form going. I want to help Mansfield seal promotion from League Two.
Chris joined FourFourTwo in 2015 and has reported from more than 20 countries, in places as varied as Ivory Coast and the Arctic Circle. He's interviewed Pele, Zlatan and Santa Claus (it's a long story), as well as covering the World Cup, AFCON and the Clasico. He previously spent 10 years as a newspaper journalist, and completed the 92 in 2017.
