I have no doubt in my mind what is required by our new manager Jamie Fullarton, yet I wonder what his assessment of the squad will be - will he agree with us fans that the squad is simply too big?

There's no dismissal that the quality of our defending must improve, it's simply not adequate and if there are any signings to be made during this January transfer window - it must be a centre back.

And I hope that he is sincere when he says that each player will be given a chance, as I feel another priority will be to establish a consistent starting 11.

Whilst it would be also welcoming to see a manager actually work on mistakes which happen within matches, so that the continuity of each player is actually worth their squad number, worthy of a starting position and importantly we may actually see lessons learnt.

However, I don't actually feel we will see any defensive additions, nor do I think we will release any players.

So how will Jamie Fullarton change our misfortunes with his limited experience?

I think the answer will be found with his first opening five games and how frequently he makes changes - will it be a learning period for the club? Absolutely, yet it's important that he hits the ground running.

For myself, I hope we prepare to start games a little more carefully - we see the defence relapse when we push and this occurs even during periods whereby you wouldn't expect it.

Can attacking football be a part of the remedy to fix the issues? Partly, yet our build up play also has to improve.

Our problems aren't just the poor defending, the switching off, or the lack of confidence.

It's also how we pass the ball around, how we look to connect our striker(s) and the frustrating formations which prevented them from having chances under Ricardo Moniz.

I hope Fullarton reverts to playing Jon Stead as a striker, whilst seeing that it is important to make use of our wingers - just as it is to see our centre midfield packed with energy, tracking and creativity.

If he can get the basics right, it would see a vast improvement and I also genuinely believe that he's lucky to have inherited such diverse squad - regardless of how big it is.

We clearly have a talented set of players and it's for him to render it, moulding it into its true potential.

Can he do it without support? Nobody knows, yet I can't be the only one who feels he requires an experienced assistant and someone to help him move forward. So there's plenty to digest around the club, to enable a brighter end to this season.

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Hello and welcome to episode 20 of the Pride of Nottingham PONCast, Notts County’s number one podcast.

In this episode we discuss the appointment of the new Magpies manager, Jamie Fullarton, and debate whether or not it was a good choice for the Meadow Lane gig.

We also discuss the latest transfer speculation surrounding Liam Noble, Alan Smith and Blair Adams, congratulate the Jimmy & Jack Memorial Fund for meeting the total needed to finally bring the duo home in statue form, and plenty more.

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So, after just under a fortnight of waiting, Notts County have their new manager. Ricardo Moniz's promise of attacking football did not translate well in League Two, a division full of plodders and sluggers, and so he paid the price just after Christmas with the Magpies in the bottom half of the table.

Since the departure of Keith Curle, the Magpies have been in freefall. From a top-half League One table, we deteriorated season upon season until, in May 2015, we had slipped into the bottom division of English professional football once again. 

Since Curle, all the managers we've had did not have any experience of managing an English league first team - Chris Kiwomya was a reserve team manager, Shaun Derry was still a professional player when we entrusted him with the Notts reins, and Moniz had only ever managed sides in various top divisions on the continent, a completely different kettle of fish to the depths of English football.

Much as it pains me to think of Notts County, my beloved team, the Oldest Football League Club in the World TM, slumming it in the fourth division, this is the harsh truth. And as we are here, we must adapt by taking on a manager who has experience of Leagues One and Two, who can help drag us out of this mire.

Over the last week a number of individuals have been tipped for the job, including Northampton Town manager Chris Wilder, Grimsby Town boss Paul Hurst, Newport County’s John Sheridan and former Swindon Town gaffer Mark Cooper. Former Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town manager Lee Clark was also said to be among the names being considered for the post.

All of these individuals would have been alright to some degree. Hurst would have been the biggest gamble of the lot as he hasn't managed in the Football League, but he has done such a good job with Grimsby Town that he would have been a good prospect.

Considering how tense the Notts fans are at the moment, having witnessed their team deteriorate to the state they're in now, he appointment of a manager with prior league experience would have been reassuring. It would have said "alright, we are in a mess, but here are some safe hands who know the name of the game and know what it takes to get out of this god-forsaken division".

What would not have been alright, however, is yet another unpopular appointment featuring another unproven, untested individual like we have done for our last three managers.

And lo and behold, we've now got Jamie Fullarton, whose only experience of management is youth teams, as our new manager.

Sure, he "could" end up being a brilliant manager, much like the relatively untested Neil Warnock was 25-odd years ago. But at least Warnock was proven in the non-League - like Hurst. Fullarton is another unknown quantity, and nobody knows what to expect. And therein lies the problem - it's not a reassuring appointment. It doesn't offer peace of mind. It's another complete shot in the dark.

And given how all our expectations and hopes have been dragged through the wringer in the last few years, is this really what Notts fans deserve at this stage in time?

Share your thoughts and opinions on this column by visiting Pride of Nottingham's forum and joining the conversation.

My first tweet following the news of Ricardo Moniz’s sacking was along the lines of the managerial merry-go-round still turning at Notts. Sadly on this occasion, I do agree with the decision to make a change and I think the timing is perfect. 

I wasn’t in favour of Shaun Derry’s departure, partly because of the man himself but mainly because of the timing of his sacking. Despite the fact he had been at the helm while we dropped like a stone towards the relegation zone of League 1, I always felt he was probably the one man who would be able to get us out of it. 

Also, the timing of his dismissal left little time for a new manager to save us from the drop – reinforcing to me that we should simply have stuck rather than twisted during such a crucial time.

My last article back in November called for calm and for fans to back the manager and hope that our position in January showed improvement – sadly this never materialized and despite backing what Moniz was trying to achieve, even I couldn’t back him any further. 

Our defence has leaked goals at an alarming rate and the potential of the squad has not been utilized at all. With the squad we have, we should at least be sniffing around the play-offs by now. 

Moniz was in favour of attacking football and that’s great when you’re in the Championship or Premier League with players who are tactically more aware, but I don’t think he ever grasped the way League 2 football is played and his stubbornness was ultimately his downfall. His lack of defensive nous was there for all to see and the way we’ve defended this season is genuinely alarming.

So now the powers that be must decide on a new manager to take the helm and try to rescue our season. There are a few names I have in mind that I would welcome to the hot seat. 

Top of my list (but someone who I know for a fact will probably not come back), is Neil Warnock. His knowledge of the football league is vast and he’s big on discipline and organization – something we desperately need. It might be a great final hoorah for him to end his managerial career on. 

Second on my list is John Sheridan and out of all the names mentioned in the betting odds and in the press, he’s the one I would choose. He’s transformed Newport County despite all their issues this season in the squad with injuries and he’s proven his abilities at Chesterfield and to some extent at Plymouth. 

Chris Wilder would also be up there, having worked wonders at a financially stricken club like Northampton and seen success at Oxford by guiding them back into the Football League as well as stabilizing them in the football league upon their return.

With Wilder the key question is, would he abandon the hard work he’s put into Northampton to get them to where they are now in order to take a gamble on achieving something at Notts – and based on our track record with managers in recent years, any man taking the job must look on it as a gamble to some extent.

Let’s hope that this time we do get the right man for the job and whoever takes the position can transform our poor away form and our leaky defence. What the club needs now more than ever is stability – not a word Notts fans can say they’re all that familiar with, but one we must adopt from here on in.