Despite coming from an elite club, playing for Spurs through junior level, both youngsters were quick to find out the standard of League One is not to be underestimated.
The pair moved away from north London to increase their number of chances on the pitch, hoping for a more competitive opposition.
Having just come away from an FA Cup tie against Premier League leaders Arsenal, they couldn’t have asked for a greater challenge.
George Abbott (20) and Oliver Irow (19) both signed for Mansfield Town on a short-term loan from Spurs at the start of the year.
Having previously played for both Notts County and Wycombe Wanderers, this marks Abbott’s third spell in the English Football League.
However, for Irow, the deal is his first away from the comforts in the capital, resulting problem patches both on and off the pitch.
From a first glance, his feet speak for themselves, bagging a brace on his league debut but ever since the senior standard has slowly caught up with him.
Irow said: “It’s a big difference, from the first half of the season to the six or seven weeks that I’ve been here, the physicality side is a major step up.
“The thing that I’ve realised is there’s not many chances, in youth football you get the ball a lot, your in space almost all the time.
“In these few weeks at Mansfield I’ve realised you only get two or three real opportunities to take the ball and go, so the biggest thing for me is taking the limited chances I get.”
Having the pair recently feature against hometown local rivals Arsenal in a fifth round FA Cup tie in a sold-out Field Mill, it’s fair to compromise that opportunities were sparse.
Although chances were few and far in the attacking third, it took a combined £100 million to break down the Stags resilient defence, efforts from Madueke and Eze.
Having played in both League One and League Two before, George Abbott has a greater grasp on the level despite his age.
His concerns circle around the genuine impact there performances have on not only thousands of fans but also their colleagues.
“You’ve got people with families, if you get relegated that’s a wage cut, everyone’s playing for the bigger picture.
“That makes it a lot more competitive, we’ve had to get up to speed quickly because the people around us are paying for their mortgage and you have to be there for them,” said Abott.
Manager Nigel Clough mentioned the difference of what stepping up to senior football earlier can make – that Harry Kane went on four separate loan deals before getting a look in at Spurs.
Clough said: “Two or three of Kane’s loan deals he wasn’t any good, now he’s the best striker in the world, that’s how important a proper development is.”
It isn’t just the patchy pitch, or the size of the dressing room that’s caught the Lilywhite duo off guard, but living away from all the easy home comforts.
Irow said: “It’s a struggle living without my mum, you don’t notice until you’re gone, I was worried I’d wake up after my first night with food poisoning.
“Since then, it’s been alright, I feel like a student, I have to check in every now and then to see what goes where and how to work the washing machine.”
So, whilst they won’t find themselves starting in the north London Derby anytime soon, the duo are certainly making progress both at home and on the pitch at Mansfield until at least the end of the season.
