Hargreaves devastated at drop

Heartbroken Chris Hargreaves said he was proud of his relegated Torquay side as they went down fighting with a 3-1 win at Mansfield.

The Gulls' relegation rivals Northampton and Bristol Rovers both won, making this result irrelevant. Mansfield helped Torquay on the way to a win with an own goal by John Dempster and a red card for striker Matt Rhead after 44 minutes, but in the end the Gulls sank back into the Conference just five years after last being promoted back into the Football League. Hargreaves said: "I am proud of my players today. We could have won that game 10-1. It was a fluid performance of attacking football. "Perhaps things have started to click with my players, it is just a little late. Results were always going to be a problem for us because they were out of our hands. "I knew things were going to be tough when I came here but I did not see this happening. It is a devastating blow for me, my family and the fans. "I would like to thank my players for their efforts and the fans for being here today, they were excellent. "I am confident we can challenge in the Conference and I want to be the man to lead the team in the Conference. "I can assure the fans that we will be working very hard to get ourselves back up. I don't expect too many changes to players. Above all I want players here who care about Torquay and want to play for the club." Ashley Yeoman opened the scoring for the visitors before Dempster's own goal. James Jennings pulled one back for the Stags right at the start of the second period but Shaquile Coulthirst made sure of victory by netting a third.