Brotherly love set to go on hold for David Holdsworth
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David focused on win not sibling rivalry
Mansfield Town manager David Holdsworth and his twin brother Dean will make history on Saturday when David's Stags take on Dean's Newport County.
According to the official records, the Blue Square Bet Premier game will be the first time that twin brothers have faced each other as opposing managers.
But the Mansfield boss admits: "I have to be single-minded.
"I love my brother dearly, but once the whistle blows I want a victory for my club," he told BBC East Midlands Today.
After starting their careers together at Watford in 1986, the Holdsworths had a fair few duels in their playing days.
They faced up for the first time in an FA Cup third round clash in January 1996 when Dean had moved on to Wimbledon and David was still at Watford. And perhaps the most memorable was in the 1998/99 season when striker Dean had the last word for Bolton against centre-half David's Sheffield United, scoring twice in a 2-1 win at Bramall Lane.
David, the elder twin by 40 minutes, then moved to Birmingham and nearly got his revenge the following season when he scored the first goal to help put Blues 3-1 ahead at the Reebok. But Dean once again popped up to have the last word, getting the equaliser in a 3-3 draw.
David's Blues then turned that round with a 2-1 win at St Andrew's later that season. But it was almost three years before they shared a pitch together again when they briefly became team-mates again at Bolton in August 2002.
Big brother David then left St Andrew's, after an initial spell out on loan at Walsall, to spend three months at the Reebok, before drifting into the lower leagues, first with Scarborough, then north of the border at Gretna, where he first took the road into coaching.
Dean, by contrast, was to see out his days at a variety of clubs - Coventry City, Rushden & Diamonds, Derby County, Weymouth, Havant & Waterlooville and Cambridge United - before trying his hand in management.
And, although he commands a Mansfield side going well in third in the Conference, five points and six places ahead of Dean's newly-promoted Newport, David knows only too well what to expect in the opposition dug-out.
"Going up against Dean is a different type of occasion," said the Stags boss.
"We came up against each other on numerous occasions as players in competitive games and the honours are probably even.
"We are both competitive but when it's on the pitch. But we can't do a lot about it now. We just have to hope the players step up to the mark.
"I'm proud of my brother. He's doing very well in his management career but we must be focused on our jobs.
"We have done very well on the road but Newport have a wonderful home record so it will be an intriguing game.
"It's a long season - but we are very pleased with the start we have made."
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