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And he hinted that Chris Greenacre may be set to follow.
"I am interested in good players", he said, "and Chris Greenacre definitely falls in to that category".
Midfielder Craig Disley and Cardiff's Andy Legg are also said to be interesting the Magpies and a big name could be on his way out of Meadow Lane in order to fund new signings.
The search for a new manager began after the home defeat to Bury on December 15th when Gary Brazil approached the board admitting he was not up to the job.
Brazil and Peter Storrie worked closely together in creating a short-list of candidates.
According to today's Guardian, Dearden has been considering the position since before Christmas but his players knew nothing about it.
"He's not just the gaffer, he's a good friend to every member of the team", said his former captain Les Robinson. "We all loved him and nobody had an idea this was coming. It came as a complete bombshell to us."
The Mansfield chairman Keith Haslam paid tribute to Dearden's achievements. "He came in a difficult time two seasons ago, when we had a threadbare squad, and got us through it", he said. "It's been a transitional period for us, with the youngsters coming through. He brought them in last season and it's all started to fall into place this season."
Gary "Teflon" Brazil will stick around as a coach and as Director of Youth affairs.
Peter Fox will resume the position of goalkeeping coach but Noel Blake has departed, opening the way for Dearden to bring in a new coach.
Meanwhile Liam Chilvers has returned to Meadow Lane after regaining full fitness and will be available for selection against Cambridge.
Some Mansfield fans seem far from dejected at the loss of their manager, crediting assistant manager Stuart Watkiss for their recent good form which has taken the Stags to third place in Nationwide League Division 3.
The 58 year-old Dearden was in charge of the the Stags for 143 games over two and a half years, winning 49 of them and drawing 37.
More news from Meadow Lane as it comes in.