Kevin Nolan: 'Accrington Stanley draw feels like a loss'

Kevin Nolan has claimed that Notts County's 2-2 draw with Accrington Stanley at the weekend feels more like a defeat, and that his players have got to cut out relinquishing healthy leads in games "right away".

For the second week in a row, the Magpies went two goals ahead, only to see their opponents strike back to level the game, and unlike at Wycombe Wanderers, there was to be no late rally.

“Ruthlessness comes from results. We’ve got this four game unbeaten run now,” Nolan told the Nottingham Post.

“The longer you extend it the more you go into games feeling you won’t get beat. When we’re 2-0 up and letting teams back in, we’ve got to cut that out right away.

“We can’t give the players anything on the training field that gives them that ruthlessness. We help as much as we can, but players have to take ownership for the state of the game.

“We can’t give goals away like we did in this game. They’re a good side Accrington. They keep going and they don’t let you have a minute.

“The lads knew all this. I told them what to expect. We’ve gone 2-0 up but you can’t take anything away from Accrington.

“They’re a good team. We’ve played well. We were deservedly 2-0 up and it should have been three or four, but if you don’t put them to bed that’s what happens.

“We did the same to Exeter last season when we were down to 10 men. It does happen and we’ve got to take it on the chin.

“The positive is that we’re four games unbeaten. It could have been three wins on the spin.

“We’ve had a real tough start in the sense of who we’ve had to play. I think we’ve handled it really well, but it’s disappointing to be in control of the game and not go on to win. It feels like a loss right now."

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