Joe Jones: For the first time in years, Notts County are not giving me anxiety - and it's amazing

I must admit, it's a strange feeling to be sitting here and having virtually no issues with my beloved Notts County at present. Everything is going pretty much hunky dory and I have no complaints about how things are going at the club. It's very pleasant and refreshing to be in a state of no anxiety and worries after years of putting up with hell.

From mid-2013 until early 2017, supporting Notts was difficult. In the beginning anyway. It then became little short of torture, with the occasional reprieve here and there (usually cup games, or the summer when there was no football on).

Winston Churchill once uttered a memorable quote which went: "If you're going through hell, keep going". And frankly, that was what supporting Notts felt like for quite a while. And it's difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you're in the eye of the storm.

Hence why, after four years of hell, it's almost beyond belief that things have turned around in the space of three months. The players have gone from liabilities to star performers, the wins are coming, and a freefall into oblivion is now all but history.

We've been lucky. Very lucky. For the old regime to go out relatively seamlessly - for fans, anyway - and Alan Hardy to come in and effectively strike gold with the vast majority of decisions he's made, it's absolutely fantastic, but to think it almost didn't happen and that we could be in the same boat as Leyton Orient right now, it is unnerving.

But hey ho. At this stage I'm honestly not concerned about playoffs next season, promotion or anything like that. Would be incredible if things went that way, but at the moment I'm making the most of this serenity. The good atmosphere in the stands, the decent football, the good results, and the knowledge that this summer is likely to bring surprises of a good kind rather than anxiety and dread.

And next season, just so long as the team tries, the football is of decent quality, the results are more often than not positive, and I can get up on a matchday actually looking forward to the game instead of wishing I was having my teeth pulled without anaesthesia instead, then this old boy is happy.

So thank you, Alan, and thank you, Kevin, for being our club's salvation - and for stopping Notts fans from having football-related mental breakdowns.

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