Has Grimsby dampened the mood?

The mood around the Notts camp at this moment in time must have taken a blow after losing three nil to Conference Premier side Grimsby Town, as it must be hard to accept a defeat even within the late stages of pre-season.

After losing to Port Vale, Notts manager Ricardo Moniz spoke about simple things having effected Notts’ chance of winning the game.

However, what struck me the most was these comments made by the man himself, “The loss against Port Vale was a big warning because we will play a lot of games like this next season”. I feel, the Port Vale game was not one we should have expected to win. Yet, the loss against Grimsby Town sends a far bigger warning, as optimism at his current stage seems to be dwindling.

There can be no argument that against Port Vale, the substitutions affected the game, however much you weigh up, having lost to Grimsby is far worse.

Pre-Season is very much a transition period, with sides getting fitness and tactics in place for the new season, but did Ricardo leave it too late to settle his squad down? I say this, as going into the final friendly against Scunthorpe United could have been much different, as it stands Notts have lost two back to back friendlies and the ambition for the season ahead seems to have damaged the famous black & white wheelbarrow once more.

I mean, I am not personally concerned – I think it takes time for players to settle and friendlies do not always give a clear indication as to what fans can expect.

Yet going into the League Two campaign having convincingly played throughout the pre-season, no doubt would have given Notts a boost going into the opening game against Stevenage. That said, Notts still have been playing quite well and were beaten by a very good Grimsby Town.

At this stage, I think we should not dwell too much on the result, however bad it may seem.

I do, feel the result was quite poor but at the end of the day, we can still be optimistic about the upcoming season.

It leaves me with questions regarding the chosen tactics, whether or not; a central defender will make all that much of a difference because I feel we may be more offensive minded with the players introduced by Ricardo Moniz.

If this is the case, I think we may have to employ some more defensive minded players and not just to bolster the defence.

I would rather see this money rumoured to have been offered Craig Mackail-Smith, made available to sign a strong-minded midfielder who can play deeply behind the advanced players. Whilst a solid Centre Back would be a blessing right now, with perhaps another right back who is not prone to being caught napping.

Notts have done well within the transfer window, as Ricardo Moniz had greatly strengthened the squad.

On paper, regardless of the defeats we look strong. It is all about how we employ players and what they offer us going forward. We have to be spend more time revising our opposition, as the homework seems to have paid off for Grimsby but I do not think we will see many games like this during the 2015/16 campaign.

So, let’s try to go into the only home friendly we have and lets show the new signings why WE ARE NOTTS COUNTY.