Notts Joe: Confidence is back within Notts County team and in the stands

The atmosphere at recent Notts County home games really has been impressive, especially given the situation we have found ourselves this season.

The optimism around Meadow Lane has made both the 2-1 wins over Crawley Town and then Cheltenham Town all the more enjoyable.

Performances may require further work, with spells in both games being quite stale at times – the important factor is the fact we are able to win games.

It's especially good to see two home wins back to back, and it just goes to show how things legitimately seem to be turning around when you consider that it wasn't that far back that we had lost 10 league games in a row.

For me Accrington Stanley is always a difficult game for Notts, I wasn’t overly disheartened by the result but the performance was bad by all accounts.

With Kevin Nolan quietly working in his management style and with the January signings at his disposal, it would seem the club has adapted, working as a priority fully focused on making our home form and Meadow Lane a place where we can be entertained.

It’s still early days, yet the passion has been restored in the stands and even speaking with fans, you can see an eagerness for the new era to be successful.

In our most recent match against Cheltenham Town, it started quite slow and scrappy.

Neither side looked all that convincing going forward, however Notts did look the better of the two even early on. With the players working hard on the pitch, chances fell and it created more reasons for our fans to sing their hearts out.

The goal made a massive difference, under our new boss Notts does seem like a team wanting to have fun on the pitch.

If you took a few moments to look around the stands, you would see just how much of a relief it was that we had scored – not because we desperately require wins in order to secure safety within League Two but because it felt like there is a massive difference around the club.

I wrote a tweet after the Accrington game after seeing fans disheartened, and I suggested that perhaps Meadow Lane would be where we found the form to find safety.

Certainly, I feel far more optimistic about home games now, than I do about away games.

Yet all the remaining games are of huge importance and we don’t need Adam Collin or Mark Yeates to inform us fans of this.

In fact, I would hope all the players focus on their performances and when the media come across to enquire about upcoming games – it would be welcome if they let this do their talking.

This past part might sound a little blunt, however I am now at the stage whereby I would just want to see safety and continue to enjoy the feel good factor. I don’t fault anyone trying to be optimistic, it’s simply down to the fact I’ve heard it all before.

Our next four games will confirm just how important things will be, if Notts can continue to pick up wins and perhaps a draw or two – things will look vastly different.

The league table now allows for breathing, hopefully after Exeter, Leyton Orient and even Yeovil Town this will be more so the case.

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