Notts County boss Kevin Nolan reiterates need for characters on and off the pitch

Kevin Nolan has reiterated the importance of having the right characters at a football club as he plans his transfer target list for Notts County's 2017-18 season.

With most of the Magpies squad out of contract in the summer, the manager has plenty to mull over in terms of who to keep, who might leave of their own accord, who will be let go and who should be brought in as a replacement.

"It's about getting the right characters because I think sometimes people get carried away by thinking 'right, we have to get this quality in'," Nolan told the Nottingham Post.

"But it's what players do off the field which is just as important and how they are around the training ground.

"Ability only goes so far because when the chips are down you need character. You need that balance in football.

"When you have a team of prima donnas they can be great for 60 minutes, but collapse in 30.

"I've seen it with a lot of teams. When you look at great sides in the Premier League, they had the ability but characters within it.

"Then outside of the 11 you had the other seven or eight driving them on. That's what I want.

"So if you do get a squad player then you need him to be a positive influence on the rest of the boys if he is not in the team as much as he would be if he was in it.

"When I've had that atmosphere and camaraderie previously, then I've only ever been in successful sides.

"Unity is something I am aiming for because I firmly believe when you have that you get better results on the pitch."

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