Notts County boss Kevin Nolan has revealed that he left Jorge Grant on the bench against Carlisle United because he has looked "a bit jaded" over the last few weeks.

The attacking midfielder has impressed for the Magpies for the majority of this season, as well as the second half of last term, but has appeared somewhat off form in recent games.

Grant was thus benched for the 2-1 win over the Cumbrians on Tuesday night although he did come on as a late substitute.

“This is Jorge’s first full season and over the last few weeks he has looked a bit jaded,” Nolan told the Nottingham Post.

“We are trying to protect him a bit and there is nothing else in it. We want to try to keep him as fresh as possible and get him back to being the best Jorge Grant he can possibly be.

“He has played a lot of games and when we have been taking lads in and out, he’s not been the one who has been rotated as much.

“It was probably time to have that sort of rest and the option of having him on the bench.

“And when he does come off the bench, he does have an immediate impact like he did against Chesterfield and Exeter earlier on in the season.

“We want to see the best Jorge Grant going into the final stretch of the season.”

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What's been happening in League Two over the last week?

Here is Pride of Nottingham's round-up of the biggest League Two news from the last seven days.

- Accrington Stanley marked 50 years since their reform by giving a replica shirt to every Year Three primary school child in the town. The scheme from club owner Andy Holt is expected to continue for the next five years, which will cost around £150,000.

- Coventry City reached an agreement to remain at the Ricoh Arena until May 2019. The Sky Blues had less than one year remaining on their deal with Aviva Premiership rugby side Wasps, who own the ground.

- Former Notts County manager Shaun Derry left Cambridge United by mutual consent, the club making an announcement just minutes after their goalless draw at home to Lincoln City on Friday.

- The League Two games between Morecambe and Chesterfield, and Newport and Forest Green, were called off on Saturday due to waterlogged pitches.

- Grimsby Town parted company with manager Russell Slade following a poor run of results. His last game in charge was Saturday's 3-0 defeat away to Crawley, a result that leaves them 17th after a run of 12 games without a win.

- Wycombe Wanderers rejected a Championship club's approach to speak to boss Gareth Ainsworth. "Gareth is under contract with us and continues to do an outstanding job," said a club statement. "Therefore we are fully focused on continuing the progress we are making with him in charge."

- Luton Town chief executive Gary Sweet said it was "unfathomable" that a decision over a proposed stadium, of up to 23,000 seats, has taken so long. The Hatters submitted a planning application to Luton Borough Council in August 2016.

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Keith Curle has claimed that Carlisle United “did enough to get something out of the game” despite being beaten 2-1 by Notts County in midweek.

The Magpies, who were desperate to get back on track following defeat to Swansea City in the FA Cup and League Two bottom side Barnet, raced into a two-goal lead by half time through Jon Stead.

Although Jamie Devitt halved the deficit on 75 minutes, the Cumbrians couldn't make the most of the remainder of the game, plus seven minutes of injury time, to beat Notts.

“It’s disappointing. Performance-wise, we did enough to get something out of the game,” Curle told the News & Star.

“With our dominance of the ball in the final third, we had the majority of the play in that area.

“They’ve got two good lads up front [Stead and Shola Ameobi] and they are hard to play against in the way they kill the game.

“But we built up momentum and showed good character to come back from 2-0 down.”

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Kevin Nolan has provided a positive update on Michael O'Connor, saying the Notts County captain is "well on the road to recovery".

The Northern Irish midfielder and club captain has been out of action since last April when he suffered a knee injury in the defeat to Portsmouth which required surgery to repair ligament damage.

A long layoff has ensued but Nolan is hopeful Occy will be available to join in full training in a fortnight's time, albeit in strictly non-contact sessions.

“It’s going fantastically well,” Nolan told the Nottingham Post. “He spent four or five days at St George’s Park last week just to give him a new environment.

“It’s always nice to have somebody on the outside see how good it is going and he has come back with a program and hopefully in the next couple of weeks he will be joining in.

“It will be on a non-contact basis but he will be involved in possession sessions because he’s not ready for tackling yet.

“But he is well on the road to recovery and touch wood it will continue. I am very hopeful he will play again this season and I do think you will see Michael O’Connor in a shirt.

“He is very confident and doing very well, but it’s just little steps. We don’t want to rush him and do anything daft because we are talking about a lad’s career here. His welfare is most important first and foremost.”

Nolan also spoke about Shaun Brisley being the latest player to catch the virus sweeping through the Notts camp.

The defender sat out Tuesday's 2-1 win over Carlisle United, but Nolan praised Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Ben Hall for his "fantastic" debut in Brisley's place.

"We got a call yesterday saying Shaun had come down with the flu so he is off until Thursday and then we will see how he is," the gaffer told the Notts site.

"But I thought Ben (Hall, Brighton loanee) was absolutely magnificent and had a fantastic debut. That is why we brought him in and he's taken his opportunity with both hands and I'm delighted for him.

"It's going to be tough for Shaun to get back into the team."

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Notts County boss Kevin Nolan has praised his players for putting in a much improved performance against Carlisle United on Tuesday night.

Last week the Magpies were hammered 8-1 at Swansea City in the FA Cup and were then beaten 1-0 at League Two bottom side Barnet.

However, Notts returned to winning ways with a 2-1 win over Keith Curle's side at Meadow Lane, thanks to Jon Stead's brace, and Nolan is pleased to have seen the players "back to their usual selves".

"That was the performance and response I was looking for, " he told the official site. "I thought the lads were back to their usual selves.

"I'm not relieved because I always believed in the squad and I trust them. I'm satisfied and glad they have shown what they can do.

"You knew Carlisle would throw everything at us and the way the lads went about it meant they were well-deserving of the victory. I am delighted for each and every one of them.

"We could have finished them off with the chances we created and it would have been an easier night if we were a bit more clinical. Overall they were absolutely brilliant."

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Kevin Nolan has spoken of the virus which is currently plaguing the Notts County setup and is hoping that it will clear up in the next week or two.

A number of players have been suffering with the bug as Elliott Hewitt missed the games against Swansea City and Barnet.

Alan Smith and Lewis Alessandra, meanwhile, both sat out the trip to the Hive, and Nolan has acknowledged that it's "going through the whole club" at present.

"I've not been feeling great myself and Richard Thomas has been the same," Nolan told the official club site on Monday ahead of the Carlisle United fixture.

"The kit man, the PA and the psychologist have all had it, so it's going through the whole club at the minute.

"Every 24 hours we're getting two players back but losing another two!

"It's unfortunate that this bug has surfaced when we're spending a lot of time with one another on the coach and at hotels.

"It's hit us harder than if we were playing Saturday-to-Saturday or at home because I would have been able to give the lads some time away from each other.

"We're hopeful we can get over it in the next week or two and have a fully-fit squad again."

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Kevin Nolan has reassured fans that there is no "mini crisis" at Notts County and that the players will be hoping to put their hard work on the training ground into practice against Carlisle United tonight.

The Magpies' league form has tailed off in recent weeks and a 4-1 win over Crewe Alexandra was followed up by an 8-1 trouncing at Swansea City in the FA Cup and then a 1-0 defeat at League Two strugglers Barnet.

Despite County's form taking a downturn, which has culminated in the club dropping out of the automatic promotion places, Nolan is adamant that everyone involved in the team is singing from the same hymn sheet.

“Everyone outside the club is probably treating it as a mini crisis, but let me reassure them,” Nolan told the Nottingham Post.

“I want to apologise to the fans who went to the game. But I must mention the fans I saw on the way back.

“One of them patted me on the back at the services, shook my hand and he said he was here when we lost 10 on the spin.

“He said that he didn’t understand all the people who are talking about a crisis. He said that he loved what we’ve done and that his boy did too.

“He read what I said and he said that’s all he wanted – pure honesty.

“That means more to me than anything else. There’s no mini crisis here, we all know exactly what we are supposed to be doing and trying to achieve.

“I always said it was not going to be smooth. These are the times you learn more about your players, your staff and yourself.

“We’ve worked as hard as we always have and hopefully we will show that on the pitch on Tuesday.”

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Notts County boss Kevin Nolan has admitted that Mason Bennett is likely to be sidelined for a fairly long time after injuring his hamstring.

The forward, on loan at Meadow Lane from Derby County, had to come off in the first half of Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Barnet.

Bennett is to go for a scan which will provide a clearer picture of when he can be back in action but Nolan sadly revealed that "we won't be seeing him any time soon".

"I'm gutted for the lad because he looked sharp in training and got a goal on his debut and then his first start," the Notts boss told the official website.

"He's going to go for a scan and then we will know more in the next 48 hours.

"We're hoping it isn't as bad as first feared but we won't be seeing him any time soon.

"He wanted to get games in and we wanted him here because of his quality but this is an opportunity for someone to step in and make themselves a real asset to the squad."

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Kevin Nolan has criticised his Notts County players following their 1-0 League Two loss at Barnet on Saturday.

The Magpies succumbed to an injury-time goal by Alex Nicholls as they left the Hive Stadium without a point to show for their efforts.

Notts have lost further ground on the top three with defeat to the division's bottom side and Nolan was not happy in the slightest with his charges.

“It wasn’t tough, it was poor - simple as," the manager told the Nottingham Post after the match.

“My players couldn’t pass a ball to each other and I told them afterwards that this is the first time I won’t protect them.

“That was not good enough for me. We improved for five to 10 minutes in the second half, but then they went back to doing whatever they wanted.

“That’s why they didn’t get the success they did. In the five minutes we asked them to do what we told them, they got a shot off and so on.

“I am not accepting it and they have got to book their ideas up and quickly otherwise we will have more afternoons like that. It seems to me they’ve got too soft and started to believe in their own hype.

“I am devastated because I don’t think I’ve seen a much poorer performance from our lads. What we ask of them and what we want from them, it looked like they just didn’t want to.

“The amount of backchat I had won’t be happening again. It was over little things, and I was only trying to help them. But it seems they know best at the minute.

“There will be changes and that’s why I’ve got a squad. We will be working hard and if they don’t want to listen then they can come and see me, and we will find somewhere else for them.

“It certainly won’t be in my first team squad if they don’t start listening. There were a few choice words, but I am just going to make them watch the game and see what they think.”

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Alan Hardy has praised Notts County's fans for their "astonishingly good" support at Swansea City and stresses the need to focus on League Two beginning with today's game with Barnet.

The Magpies fans continued to sing even when their team was on the receiving end of a 8-1 defeat in Tuesday's FA Cup fourth-round replay at the Liberty Stadium.

Hardy admits the heavy loss left him struggling to sleep afterwards and says he felt sorry for the travelling fans, but is eager to move on and hopefully end the week with a win at the Hive Stadium.

"I didn’t sleep well afterwards as I didn’t doze off until 3am," the club owner wrote in his weekly Nottingham Post column. "I was reasonably philosophical but I just wanted to be on my own.

"I didn’t care about the money and I felt sorry for the fans because they were astonishingly good. They never stopped singing and the majority of them would have travelled back that night.

"It wasn’t a nice feeling knowing they had seen the team lose 8-1 but we move on and now our sole focus is the league, in which we have a massive game at Barnet this weekend.

"We are in an excellent position, although it is incredibly tight at the top.

"With six of the top eight playing each other this weekend, it represents a good chance to open up a slight gap on some of our rivals.

"Let’s hope we can end the week with a win as we chase our ultimate goal - to seal one of those automatic promotion places."

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Kevin Nolan has provided updates on Matt Tootle and Elliott Hewitt, expressing his hopes of the duo being fit for Notts County's trip to Barnet on Saturday.

Tootle has been sidelined for almost a month through illness, while Hewitt was forced to sit out Tuesday night's FA Cup replay at Swansea City after picking up a virus at the team hotel.

"Toots played in a behind-closed-doors game on Tuesday," Nolan told the official Notts site. "He's eating regularly now and putting weight back on.

"Being the athlete he is, I'd have no qualms about putting him in at the weekend. He'll be there or there abouts.

"Elliott is still under the weather. That's what happens with all the viruses going round. He would obviously have been involved on Tuesday but for his virus.

"We had to get him an extra room to get him away from his room-mate and made him come back with the kitman so he didn't infect any of his team-mates!

"Hopefully we'll have a full bill of health for the game but we'll see in the next 24 hours."

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Kevin Nolan has stressed that Notts County's players will become stronger following the FA Cup elimination at the hands of Swansea City in midweek.

The Magpies did superbly to earn a fourth-round replay against the Swans after holding them to a 1-1 draw at Meadow Lane in the first game.

However, Carlos Carvalhal is working miracles with his new side, who have beaten both Arsenal and Liverpool in the Premier League prior to meeting Notts at the Liberty Stadium.

As it turned out, the Welsh side was in rampant form which, combined with a County off day, culminated in a 8-1 hammering.

Nolan has suggested that, in hindsight, the prospect of beating a side experiencing such an upturn in form was perhaps a bit "crazy" but the gaffer is eager to now kick on in League Two, beginning with Barnet away.

“The last two results Swansea had at home before playing us was beating Arsenal and Liverpool,” he told the Nottingham Post.

“But people thought we could go there and get a result. When you look at it like that it’s crazy.

“That’s what football does and that was because of what we produced in the first game against them.

“That was down to the players, not me. They made people believe they could cause an upset.

“That’s why the BBC chose to screen the game live. We maybe froze a bit, and got taken in by the whole glamour of it and we were punished. But this will make them stronger.”

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Adam Collin has expressed his relief at being back in action after missing several months out through injury.

The Notts County goalkeeper injured his knee in the 2-1 win over Barnet on October 14 and only returned to action in the 1-1 draw with Swansea City in the FA Cup just over a week ago.

“I feel okay because it wasn’t planned for me to come straight back into the team against Swansea,” Collin told the Nottingham Post.

“A couple of reserve games would have been nice, but I had to come back in and I was pleased to give a good account of myself.

“It was really frustrating to get injured because up until the point I got injured, I was probably having the best season of my career.

“I had six clean sheets out of 13 games and was on my way to keeping my seventh when I got injured against Barnet.

“To miss out through my first injury as a professional footballer was frustrating. I am just glad to be back now, fit and playing.”

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What's been happening in League Two over the last week?

Here is Pride of Nottingham's round-up of the biggest League Two news from the last seven days.

Coventry City defender Tom Davies faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after breaking his collarbone in Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Forest Green.

Newport County midfielder Sean Rigg left the club by mutual consent and plans to pursue a career as a tattoo artist while playing part time for Bath City.

Cheltenham Town defender Matt Bower has signed a new contract with the Robins until at least the end of the 2018-19 season.

Cambridge United have extended striker Barry Corr's stay until the end of the season, having made three substitute appearances for the U's since joining on a three-week non-contract basis last month.

Lincoln City will be playing at Wembley for the first time in their 133-year history after beating Chelsea's Under-21 side in the semi-finals of the EFL Trophy to contest the final against either Yeovil Town or Shrewsbury Town.

Mike Flynn will stay on as Newport County manager until June 2020 after signing a contract extension on enhanced wages.

Morecambe put out a statement saying the club has not been issued with a winding up order, stating: "The club would like to stress to fans that it is up to date with all payments in relation to HMRC and no action has been taken against the club."

Grimsby Town confirmed that striker Akwasi Asant left the club by mutual consent.

EFL chief Shaun Harvey stated that the Football League will not be pursuing the option of a winter break like the Premier League is planning to do.

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Kevin Nolan has outlined the need for Notts County to put the FA Cup elimination at the hands of Swansea City behind them and focus on the upcoming League Two trip to Barnet on Saturday.

While the Magpies were in action at the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday night, Accrington Stanley beat Swindon Town to move up to third in the standings, nudging Notts into fourth.

Although saluting his side's great cup run and describing the Swansea replay as a welcome "freebie", Nolan says there are "different things to worry about now".

“I can’t see it affecting any confidence in terms of what we are doing in the league,” he told the Nottingham Post.

“The cup game was a freebie for us and it has been a great run. It’s been fantastic for the fans and for Alan Hardy and myself.

“We can be disappointed yes, but we have different things to worry about now and we are looking forward to another difficult game at the weekend.”

Following the Swansea game, Nolan also gave updates on Elliott Hewitt and Matt Tootle and hoped that they would be fit for the trip to the Hive Stadium.

“Elliott picked up a bug so we wanted to keep him away and he stayed back at the hotel,” he said. “Toots played in a game behind closed doors and got 70 minutes in.

“So we are getting there with all the squad and you can see there is good competition for places. I am hoping that we will have fully fit squad for the weekend.”

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Gary Rowett has revealed that Derby County were eager to keep Mason Bennett at the club and also considered sending him to Burton Albion but felt Notts County were able to give him "a big 17 games".

The 21-year-old came close to breaking in the Rams first team this term but has been hindered by injury, leading to the Championship club sending him out on loan, with the Magpies recruiting the player on deadline day.

"Mason was one we felt we could keep around for the last three months of the season and may be he'd get two or three appearances, but what would we learn about him?" Rowett told the Derby Telegraph.

"He has had a really good season in terms of training. He has been really sharp apart from his injury, and so he has made good progress this season but we will only see that progress if Mason goes out and plays games.

"We had interest from Burton Albion as well, but we just felt and I think the player just felt that he wanted to go somewhere where he had a chance of playing 17 games and that is what he is going to do at Notts County. He needs that.

"It is a big 17 games for him because the reality of the situation is if he does really well in those games then we can probably look at him in a slightly different light because we can see what he can do," Rowett added.

"If he doesn't do well, then everybody has to have a good think about whether he can afford a season next season where he is a bit-part player. So it is a good move for him.

"We have got four or five players who can play in those wide areas and so we didn't think there was any great need to deny Mason that opportunity to go out on loan."

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Swansea City manager Carlos Carvalhal has praised his players for making Notts County look like "they are not a good team" in their FA Cup fourth-round replay on Tuesday night.

The Swans were held to a 1-1 draw in the first game at Meadow Lane but recorded an 8-1 win at the Liberty Stadium to send the Magpies crashing out of the competition.

Carvalhal, who has masterminded an upturn in form for a Swansea side that looked set on dropping out of the Premier League, admits he knew they were in for "a challenge".

"It is important if it is the best result in the history, but the most important thing is the attitude of the players that made all the difference," Carvalhal told BBC Sport after the game. "I [told] them before the game that we have a challenge.

"I am very proud of the players as they accepted the challenge. They made Notts County look like they are not a good team, but they are a good team.  But we the way we played made the difference, the attitude was fantastic."

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Kevin Nolan has declared himself proud of his Notts County players for their impressive FA Cup run despite it coming to a humbling end in their FA Cup fourth-round replay at Swansea City.

When the Magpies claimed a 1-1 draw in the first game at Meadow Lane, there was much scope to believe an upset could have been on the cards in Wales.

However, Carlos Carvalhal's charges were on top of their game, while the visitors very much had an off day, culminating in an 8-1 defeat at the hands of the Swans.

Despite the scoreline, Nolan was quick to pay tribute to his charges and will now focus on getting them ready for Saturday's League Two trip to Barnet.

“I am so proud of what they’ve done,” Nolan told the Nottingham Post.

“They have been absolutely fantastic because they beat Brentford away, they earned a draw against Swansea who are a Premier League side.

“They’ve been brilliant this year and now they have got to turn their attentions to the league. That’s our main priority."

Speaking about his side's performance in the second game, Nolan added: "I think our time was at Meadow Lane a couple of weeks ago when we had them on the rack.

“I felt a lot of things would have to go in our favour, but it just seemed everything they hit went into the corner, the top corner. They showed their Premier League class.”

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Swansea City boss Carlos Carvalhal has stressed that, whilst his focus is on Premier League survival, he will still field a strong team against Notts County in their FA Cup fourth-round replay.

The Magpies travel to the Liberty Stadium to take on the Swans tonight, who have enjoyed an upturn of form in the league in recent weeks.

Swansea had just 13 points to their name from 20 games when the Portuguese was named as Paul Clement’s successor; they have taken 11 from six under his stewardship.

However, they were unable to see off Notts at Meadow Lane in the first game, Jon Stead salvaging a 1-1 draw after Luciano Narsingh had put the top-flighters a goal up at the break.

With a double injury blow coming in the form of Leroy Fer and Wilfried Bony sidelined until the end of the season, the former Sheffield Wednesday manager insisted he will not take any risks by using players with knocks.

“We will try to win this game,” Carvalhal told the official Swans site.

“We will not take any risks with any players who have some small pains or are risking injuries.

“But we will play a strong team. As I said before Wolves (in round three) and before the first game against Notts County, our main competition is the Premier League.

“If you gave me the choice of staying up or winning the cup, of course I would choose staying up.

“But we are happy to play these cup games. We understand the prestige of this competition. We have to respect that and we also must respect Notts County.

“It will not be an easy game, but we will fight to get to the next round.”

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Notts County coach Mark Crossley has revealed how Cardiff City have allowed the Magpies to use their training facilities ahead of tonight's FA Cup fourth-round meeting with Swansea City.

The first game finished 1-1 at Meadow Lane which meant a replay at the Liberty Stadium for a place in the fifth round and a trip to Sheffield Wednesday.

Cardiff are now hoping to see their bitter South Welsh rivals beaten at the second attempt and Crossley says the Bluebirds are paying back a favour.

“Our chairman owns Ilkeston Town and Cardiff used their ground before their FA Cup tie at Mansfield," Crossley told reporters.

“They were grateful and returned the favour for us this time. It was instant ‘yes’ from them - not a problem.

“We’ve got three days down there and that’s the right way to prepare. We’ll be using some excellent training facilities once we get down there.

“Everything between then and now is all about looking at Swansea’s strengths and weaknesses.

“We’ll be able to do that at a hotel. If it gives you that extra one per cent chance of getting a result then so be it.”

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Kevin Nolan has expressed his delight with Notts County's big 4-1 win over Crewe Alexandra in terms of carrying the momentum forward into Tuesday night's FA Cup fourth-round replay at Swansea City.

The Magpies drew 1-1 with the Swans in the first game to secure a replay at the Liberty Stadium, with a fifth-round meeting at Sheffield Wednesday up for grabs.

County's League Two form in January was wobbly but the team got back to winning ways against the Railwaymen in front of a packed Meadow Lane on Saturday.

The result kept the club in the division's automatic promotion places and, on the back of the win, Nolan is eager for the team to get back out onto the pitch promptly.

“I am really looking forward to it,” he told the Nottingham Post. "When you win games you just want to be back out on the pitch.

“There’s a lot of work to be done from now until Tuesday, but we will enjoy this result for a bit.

“I know Swansea had another good result at the weekend so it will be a tough one, but we go there full of confidence.”

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Kevin Nolan is hoping that some of the people who made the most of the £2 ticket offer for Notts County against Crewe Alexandra will "have seen enough to come back".

Saturday's League Two game at Meadow Lane saw ticket prices slashed as part of Alan Hardy's one-year anniversary festivities and as a result, a huge crowd of 17,274 turned out at the ground.

Those in attendance were treated to a show of grit, perseverance and class as the Magpies came from a goal down to win 4-1 and Nolan is hoping that the great result will make those who haven't been to the Lane much think about attending more games.

"I thought the crowd were fantastic (on Saturday) and it's a credit to what Alan has done because I don't think we'd have got over 17,000 through the gates this time last year if we had offered £2 a ticket," he told the Nottingham Post.

"That shows how far we have come in a year and hopefully the fans have seen enough to come back. The experience will be in the back of their minds that Meadow Lane is a good place to come, where you get looked after.

"They got a great spectacle with some fantastic goals, play and finishing. It makes people go home with a big smile on their face and I will certainly be one of those."

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