Jonathan Forte has described scoring the winner in Notts County's first League Two victory since October as "a brilliant feeling"

The striker's late goal against Crawley Town on Saturday helped the Magpies to a 2-1 win and lifted the struggling side out of the relegation zone.

"It feels great, we haven't won in a long time so scoring the winner was a brilliant feeling," Forte told the Nottingham Post.

"I had a chance in the first half when I went through one on one and I think I panicked because I saw two players coming in and thought 'right I might have to hit it early'.

"The keeper made a decent save but I think I should have gone the other way. Then I had a header and I'm not really renowned for those but that was unlucky not to go in.

"But I was just happy to get the winner. When they scored it deflated us and I thought 'here we go again'.

"We got ourselves back into it and in the past few weeks that wouldn't have happened. They'd have gone down the other end and scored but obviously this time we've got the goal and we're all delighted."

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Kevin Nolan has hailed his Notts County players for claiming their first League Two win since October against Crawley Town, while also thanking the fans for their support.

Thierry Audel gave the Magpies the lead at Meadow Lane on Saturday before James Collins appeared to have salvaged something for the Red Devils.

However, Jonathan Forte sent the Lane into delirium when he struck at the death and gave the hosts a 2-1 win and all three points to lift them out of the relegation zone.

Nolan told the Nottingham Post: "It feels good. I have to praise the lads because they have taken on board what we have done.

"They were brilliant from one to 13 because the lads who came off the bench played their part too.

"We were together and the performance ensured that we thoroughly deserved what we got.

"I hope the fans enjoyed it and hopefully there will be more of these afternoons to come.

"It's not great for the heart, I must admit. But I am young enough and fit enough to be able to take it.

"The fans really got behind us and it lifted the players. I thank them for that. The players mentioned afterwards it was the first time they had heard it for a while. It's great and hopefully we can continue."

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Notts County have confirmed that the transfer embargo at the club has been lifted.

Alan Hardy revealed the news during a Twitter Q&A on Friday, confirming that the Magpies could sign players again.

Notts were under embargo for failing to make required payments to HM Revenue & Customs and other clubs during the Ray Trew era.

Manager Kevin Nolan said on Thursday he was hopeful the Magpies could sign players "within 72 hours".

The January transfer window shuts next Tuesday.

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Despite the transfer embargo at Notts County, there are still rumours about potential signings coming to Meadow Lane should the situation be resolved.

In the mist of the rumour mill, is exactly the type of player the Magpies have famously became linked with under the Ray Trew era.

By this, I refer to former Premier League players with a notably well-known name, yet with rather indistinctive careers.

With Notts desperately seeking new signings - players of whom can make a significant impact - it's no doubt going to be a rush in order to sign anyone and this all depends on if the embargo is lifted within enough time to get rubber stamps (Football League approval).

So upon hearing that we are being linked with former Chelsea and West Ham player Carlton Cole, it really does make my mind race as to if he would be any better than what we have had previous seasons.

Yet I realise it could simply be a case of a temporary means, with all hinging on the previously mentioned restriction and of course if he would even join a League Two team.

So who is Carlton Cole? Here is a quick fact file.

Name: Carlton Michael George Cole
Born: 12/10/1983 – Croydon, England
Age: 33
Position: Striker

Cole emerged through the Chelsea academy, establishing himself as a first team player in 2001.

During 5 years he earned a total of 25 appearances for London club, netting 4 times.

He had brief stints on loan with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic, and Aston Villa. Scoring 8 times in a combined 55 appearances.

Later he joined West Ham in the 2006/17 season for an undisclosed fee. Whilst with the Hammers he enjoyed the best time in his career, scoring 55 times in 256 apperances.

Since this he hasn’t featured much, however he joined Celtic in 2015 – later arriving at Sacramento Republic in the American second division.

It’s questionable and debatable weather or not Carlton Cole has the ability to feature regularly or form part of a successful striker force. It would be interesting to see if he could work alongside Jon Stead, however I remain unconvinced.

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Alan Hardy has revealed that he sacked John Sheridan from his post as Notts County manager because of his verbal abusing of match officials during the defeat to Wycombe Wanderers.

The 52-year-old was dismissed as Magpies boss on January 3 following a club-record ninth consecutive defeat in League Two, but the club made no reference to why he was let go at the time.

New owner Hardy has now confirmed that it was Sheridan's abusive language towards referee Eddie Ilderton and the other officials following the 2-0 defeat to Wycombe in December rather than the club's poor form which led to the manager's departure.

Hardy told the official Notts site: "I wish to make it clear that this sort of behaviour by any employee of this club will not be tolerated.

"It was our decision to terminate the contract based on what I read in the referee's report regarding the incident. This is a family-friendly club which aims to be a pillar of the local community.

"Comments of the type made by Mr Sheridan were utterly appalling and wholly unacceptable, completely undermining the community spirit and focus we are striving to develop here.

"In light of the recent disclosure of the referee's report, I thought it appropriate to communicate the exact reasons behind the course of action we took."

Sheridan received a five-match ban for the abuse, and he apologised for his behaviour - he is now back at previous club Oldham Athletic.

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Kevin Nolan understands how the Notts County players are feeling at present as the club battles relegation from the English Football League.

The Magpies have not won since their 2-0 victory over non-league Boreham Wood in the FA Cup on November 15, while their last league win was a full three months ago, against Portsmouth.

Since then Notts have slipped from the playoff positions to the bottom two, losing 11 out of 12 league games, including 10 on the trot prior to the goalless draw against Mansfield Town.

Nolan says he sympathises with his players, having played in relegation-threatened teams before and understanding how confidence can waver.

"I've been in their situation," the Notts boss told the Nottingham Post. "You have that first bad touch and you go 'oh aye' and the next ball comes and you take three touches instead of two.

"All of a sudden you start getting what they call scatterbrain. A lot of the lads will be suffering from that given what's gone on in the past.

"But I was so pleased with their reaction to going a goal down against Grimsby at the weekend. They didn't capitulate and I was pleased with how they responded."

Up next for Notts is a home fixture in the league against Crawley Town.

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Kevin Nolan has admitted that there is a lot of work that needs to be done at Notts County, with defending the key aspect.

After the impressive goalless draw against Mansfield Town last weekend, the Magpies slipped to a 2-0 defeat away at Grimsby Town.

"We know there is a lot of work to be done and I never shied away from that," Nolan told the Nottingham Post.

"But we have got to start learning pretty quickly that we can't gift goals away.

"It's disappointing after such a good week that we didn't follow it up with probably the same commitment that we showed last week.

"By that I don't mean the lads didn't give me everything they had, but I mean good positive closing down and aggression.

"We were more on the back foot. I am disappointed in that way, but we always knew we would have to work hard to get out of the situation."

Nolan also reiterated owner Alan Hardy's work in trying to get the transfer embargo removed.

"Alan is trying everything to lift the embargo and with a bit of luck we might have a few days to have a go at a few players," said Nolan.

"It will give us the chance to freshen it up and give the lads a bit of a boost, because there is nothing better than seeing a new lad come in to help you out.

"We have had lots of positive feedback from players who want to come here and agents are texting and calling feeling that this is a good club to come to and be part of what we want to achieve.

"We are hopeful because whatever Alan puts his mind to he is getting done at the moment."

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Notts County boss Kevin Nolan has pledged to get momentum going and edge his side to League Two safety, starting this weekend at Grimsby Town.

Despite the Magpies slipping into the drop zone, they managed to stop the rot last week with a point against Mansfield Town at Meadow Lane.

The goalless draw was an improvement on the previous 10 league games, which all ended in defeats, and John Sheridan's successor is hoping for more in the coming weeks.

"We want to build momentum now," Nolan told the Nottingham Post.

"We have been down in the dumps for so long with the 10 losses on the spin, but now we want to go as long as we can without losing.

"That may be picking up draw after draw until we get that confidence going and getting as many clean sheets as we can.

"These are all factors that are going to keep us up. There is lots of emphasis on that because I think we find goals easy to come by with the attacking options we have got.

We have 10, eight and seven between the front three, (Jon) Stead, (Jonathan) Forte and (Adam) Campbell. We know if we get chances they will put them away.

"We have to look forward, take all the good things from last week and build on them."

Nolan has also placed emphasis on video analysis to try and improve the players, whilst promising not to use it as a shaming technique.

"They are good players and good players for this league," he said.

"When they start expressing themselves we will start reaping the rewards.

"There's not going to be criticism. Whenever we watch a video and pull someone out, it's not a criticism.

"It's to make him better and to make him do what we want him to do on Saturday. If we don't make them mistakes then we will be a better team for it.

"It's all about helping players and giving as much information as I can without burning their head out.

"It's about being positive on the training pitch, and we've done it visually with the video as well.

"It's hoping they can learn from that and not make the same mistake too often."

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Notts County boss Kevin Nolan has revealed that the transfer embargo at the club is "starting" to be lifted, and hopes that he will be able to sign some players before the end of the month.

Despite Alan Hardy's takeover of the club, the embargo remains due to "higher than expected levels of debt during the takeover process", but Nolan is hopeful that this will be rectified.

Nolan is also considering registering himself as a player, but not for the time being.

"At this minute I'm fully focused on getting the lads right and trying to get my mentality and formation in place," he told talkSPORT.

"We've got this week to do that before Grimsby. The lads have been first class I've got to admit since I walked through the door.

"The chairman has been first class since I've come in. Anything I've needed he's kept his promises.

"We are starting to get the embargo lifted. Maybe we can get some faces in before the end of the window. He's working hard to do that."

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Richard Duffy has revealed that the Notts County players were smiling in the dressing room after holding Mansfield Town to a goalless draw last Saturday.

The Magpies had lost 10 games on the trot prior to the derby, but were able to claim a point against their local rivals in front of more than 11,000 people at Meadow Lane.

With new manager Kevin Nolan at the helm and Alan Hardy taking over the club, Duffy believes that he and his teammates showed the fans what they're capable of.

"If you had offered us a clean sheet before the game we would have snapped your hand off," Duffy told the Nottingham Post.

"The way we have gone about our business recently hasn't been good enough and we all take responsibility for that.

"But we stood up and showed what we can do against Mansfield.

"There were a few smiles in the dressing room because it stopped the rot.

"It's been a terrible run. We take responsibility for it, but we showed the fans we can do it."

Up next for Notts is an away fixture at Grimsby Town in League Two this weekend.

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Alan Hardy has issued a heartfelt thank you to Notts County fans for the bumper attendance at Meadow Lane for the derby against Mansfield Town.

The attendance for Saturday's game was above 11,000 as the Magpies played out a goalless draw against the Stags which gave them their first point after 10 defeats on the trot.

Hardy wrote on the official Notts website: “I would like to place on record my thanks to everyone who supported Kevin and the players on their way to a much-needed point and clean sheet on Saturday.

“It was brilliant to see such a positive response to our ticketing initiatives and there’s no doubt in my mind that the fans played a huge part in us getting the result.

"Hopefully we have now turned a corner on the field and we can look forward to climbing the table.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my first matchday as chairman, meeting so many fascinating, passionate people - including the Italian Magpies, of course!

“The messages of support keep flooding through and everyone here at Meadow Lane is determined to repay that by performing to the best of our ability on and off the pitch."

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Kevin Nolan has claimed that many of the Notts County players just needed "an arm around the shoulder" to get them back on track.

The former Leyton Orient player-manager only took his first Magpies training session on Friday, but the following day the team was able to claim their first point in 11 games with a goalless draw against Mansfield Town.

Nolan said he spoke with several players individually to explain what he wanted from them, and they duly put in improved performances, such as Adam Collin and Richard Duffy.

"I told Adam what I wanted and what I expect and I think a lot of these lads just need an arm around the shoulder and a pat on the back," he told the Nottingham Post.

"They need a bit of loving. They had lost 10 games on the spin and I know what that's like.

"It's like Michael O'Connor, the skipper. I've been in his situation when the team is getting beat because you're the one who always gets hammered from every angle.

"I thought he was fantastic. I also managed to get hold of Richard and have a good chat with him.

"I know his quality. That lad is a fantastic footballer and he reads the game so well.

"I think he's brilliant having Thierry Audel next to him. I want to make that a solid centre-half partnership.

"I said to the players after the game that they had shown me the standard and that's the minimum required from now until the end of the season.

"We will be working our socks off week in, week out, to get better."

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Kevin Nolan has described the reception he got from the Notts County fans in his first game in charge as "absolutely fantastic".

The new Magpies boss was introduced to fans before kick-off between Notts and Mansfield, and received a huge ovation from a crowd of more than 11,000 at Meadow Lane.

"It was absolutely fantastic and I can't thank them enough for the reception they gave me," Nolan told the Nottingham Post.

"I hope now that I can start bringing them success to the club.

"To have 11,000 in your first game in League Two was amazing.

"I didn't expect it and neither did I expect all the nice messages I received on the messageboards and things like that.

"I've a lot to prove and I promise them and the chairman I will give them 110 percent."

Nolan's first game ended in a goalless draw against the Stags, which ended County's losing run in League Two.

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Out with the old and in with the new.

The protracted Notts County takeover saga is now but a distant memory, with new owner Alan Hardy now officially in charge of the club.

Hardy appeared in front of the cameras on Thursday afternoon at Meadow Lane to introduce himself to the world and discuss his plans and hopes for the world's oldest Football League club.

Here is a breakdown of some of his key points, which were posted on the Notts Twitter page.

What he wants from the Notts players

"I have told the players that it is about unity. Today is the start of a new era and a blank piece of paper. What I am looking for is passion, desire and commitment. We have to show the fans that we want to win. They have to leave everything on the pitch. That is all we can ask of them.

"I understand the frustration of the fans and I have conveyed it to the players. The players need to rise to this challenge. The passion and determination in this club needs to go up a few notches and I think it will."

On speculation linking the club to Harry Redknapp

"I have had lots of conversations with Harry Redknapp this week but they were never about him becoming manager here. I like to surround myself with people who know more than I do and Harry fits that bill with regards to football."

On the appointment of Kevin Nolan as the club's new manager

"Kevin is an outstanding leader. We have 20 games left and we need immediate change on the pitch to ensure our EFL safety. He shares my ambition and desire to have young players come through into the first team."

On the transfer embargo

"It is no secret that there is a transfer embargo in place and we have a court hearing with HMRC on 6 February. It is a hugely complex situation. It is not as easy as me writing a cheque and writing off the debt. I expect to make the last seven days of the transfer window to be able to bring players in. That is my target. I cannot say the embargo will be lifted by Monday. My solicitors are now working on resolving that situation."

On grassroots football and appointing a new academy director

"I have been brought up on local football. I love grassroots football. We have scouts from Forest, Derby, Leicester but never one from Notts watching games. That will change. I will appoint a new Academy Director tomorrow... coming from West Bromwich Albion.

"Once we have secured survival this season I want to bring academy players into the first team. We need to start breeding our own. I want Notts County to be the club of choice for local 12 and 13 year olds who want to become professional footballers."

On the Notts fans

"I have been astounded by the passion of Notts County fans. I think we will get 10,000 people through the gates on Saturday. I want all of the fans to get behind the football club and give us a chance. Come for a few games and we will show this is a new club. I want to encourage children under 12 to be able to come to every game for free. They are our Magpies of the future."

On the Notts training facilities

"One thing holding us back is the lack of a proper training facility. That is one of the key deliverables to unlock success here."

His personal thoughts on becoming the new Notts owner

"Driving into the Chairman's space in the car park was the first time it really sank in for me. The last few weeks have been so stressful. I have not slept for more than 3 hours a night. It is probably 90% a decision [to buy the club] with the heart and 10% with the head. I am torn between excitement, nervousness and being incredibly humbled."

Where he sees Notts in the next five years

"There is no reason that we cannot be as big as our neighbours... there is no reason that we cannot be in the Championship in five years. This is a massive football club but that is not reflected by the success on the pitch. We have a 1, 3 and 5 year plan. We want the debts cleared in 3 years but if it takes 5 then so be it. I am here for the long haul. If this deal did not happen there was a good chance the club would have become extinct."

Notts County have confirmed the appointment of Kevin Nolan as the club's new manager.

The 34-year-old became the youngest boss in the Football League last January when he became player-manager of Leyton Orient.

He enjoyed a long playing career as he made his name as a combative midfielder at Bolton Wanderers, and also enjoyed fruitful spells at Newcastle United and West Ham United,

Nolan's appointment comes as Notts welcome new owner Alan Hardy, who took over the club from Ray Trew on Wednesday after a few issues had to be ironed out.

Hardy told his first press conference on Thursday: "Kevin is an outstanding leader. We have 20 games left and we need immediate change on the pitch to ensure our EFL safety."

Nolan also spoke to the press and said: "I am delighted to be offered the job and I am looking forward to a top day on Saturday.

"We have a squad capable of staying in this league. I am aware of what I am walking into. I feel I can improve things. I wouldn't be sitting here as manager otherwise. It will be difficult but I have never been one to shy away from a fight.

"Sam Allardyce encouraged me to come here. I worked with Allardyce for almost 14 years. If I can emulate his success here it will be absolutely fantastic."

Nolan takes the reins at Meadow Lane with the club 22nd in League Two and reeling from 10 consecutive league defeats ahead of Saturday's visit of Mansfield Town.

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Notts County have confirmed that Alan Hardy is the new owner of the club.

The Nottinghamshire businessman declared yesterday on Twitter that he "finally got there" and the takeover is now officially rubber-stamped.

It had been a tense few days this week as the transfer of ownership was expected to be completed on Monday, but a snag over the payment of a loan was successfully overcome.

Hardy, who takes over from Ray Trew, told the official Magpies site: “I am absolutely delighted to have brought these discussions to a positive conclusion and I am immensely proud and humbled to be the owner and chairman of this great football club.

“Clearly we all face a challenging time ahead but I am determined we should all meet these challenges head on.

"We have a huge amount of work to undertake and it is crucial that everyone connected with the club pulls together in the same direction.

"I wish to pay thanks to all Notts supporters for their backing, encouragement and humour in recent weeks and months.

"Our home fixture with Mansfield on Saturday has already adopted huge significance and I hope we will be able to see a huge groundswell of Notts support at Meadow Lane.

"My message to everyone would be to come down and support your club. We need it now as much as at any point in our club's illustrious history."

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Alan Hardy has announced that he "finally got there" after a tense few days of negotiations to become Notts County's new owner.

The deal to take over the club was originally planned to go ahead on Monday, but the deal hit a snag following reports of a loan needing to be paid off.

Notts fans waited anxiously on Wednesday for an announcement regarding the future of the club, but at around half past 12 Hardy announced the news.

He posted on Twitter: "Finally got there guys, thank you for all your tremendous support! Now let's get this Club back where it belongs! New World starts today!", which the Notts page retweeted.

In addition, Hardy changed his profile on the social media platform back to "Chairman and owner of Notts County FC".

An official announcement, potentially about a new manager at Meadow Lane, is due on Thursday.

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Alan Hardy has moved to reassure Notts County fans that his takeover of the club is still on the cards.

The Nottinghamshire businessman sent alarm bells ringing on Monday evening when he removed the phrase 'Notts County chairman' from his Twitter profile's biography.

On Tuesday morning, Hardy wrote on Twitter: "Really sorry for the radio silence. Still trying desperately to structure long term financial security for this great football club."

Around the same time, BBC Nottingham Sport reported that the "delay of Notts County takeover is due to a £1m loan the club arranged some while ago with trustees of Haydn Green estate.

"The issue regards repayment of the loan. Lawyers for Mr Hardy & Mr Trew spent yesterday trying to find solution, but without success."

When advised on Twitter to prioritise club communications over the social media platform, Hardy replied: " In hindsight, you're prob right, I'll refrain in future. We never envisaged this snag, hindsight etc."

In reply to a fan who said Hardy was the only option for the Magpies, he said: "Believe me, I have only one item on my To Do List today!"

The takeover of Notts was meant to take place on Monday as Hardy earmarked the Nottinghamshire derby against Mansfield Town as the first game of his tenure.

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Notts County caretaker boss Alan Smith has slammed individual errors for costing his side dear against Morecambe on Saturday.

The Magpies fell to their 10th consecutive defeat in League Two as the Shrimpers claimed an easy 4-1 victory at the Globe Arena.

As has often been the case, Notts conceded early, and by the half-time point they were three goals down.

The player-coach did find some solace in the impending arrival of new owner Alan Hardy, who comes in at the start of next week.

"I told the players in the dressing the performance in the second half is what we need to be putting in for 90 minutes week in, week out," Smith told the Nottingham Post.

"Individual errors have cost us goals again. We were a bit naive at times in terms of not using the width as much as we should do when they went down to 10 men.

"I'd like to thank the fans who travelled in their numbers again. I'm gutted that we did not give them the result they wanted.

"It is going to be a big week for this football club. It's a fresh start for everyone with the new owner coming in on Monday and hopefully the club can start moving forwards and upwards."

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Alan Smith has stressed that Notts County must go back to basics to restore their belief and confidence, but believes that the players are good enough to get results.

The former Leeds United and Manchester United forward has been given the responsibility of managing the struggling Magpies on an interim basis following John Sheridan's dismissal.

"What we have tried to emphasise is that it's about getting that belief and confidence back into the players," Smith told the Nottingham Post.

"In the last 18 months, performances and results haven't been good enough. When you are not getting results, you struggle for confidence and that applies to any sport.

"I am not going to play on Saturday. I am going to try to help the lads as much as possible and from now until Saturday is all about getting a result.

"There is no reason why we can't. Although every game in this league is difficult, I keep emphasising to the group that they don't become bad players overnight.

"There are players in the dressing room who have played Championship or League One football for most of their career.

"If I didn't think the team could win, I wouldn't be sat here trying to motivate them. Hand on heart, I do think we have good enough players to get results.

"One of the first things I said to the players was that in this short period of time could they take on board what I want them to do, which is to go back to basics.

"We have to try everything we can to get a result. It's pretty straight forward and we can't reinvent the way we want to play because there just hasn't been the time.

"I think collectively we are underachieving, but there is no quick fix for that. It doesn't happen overnight.

"We are going to Morecambe with commitment and passion, everything you would expect from a team."

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Notts County assistant manager Mark Crossley has revealed that the club's players argued with each other after their 4-0 defeat to Cambridge United.

The former goalkeeper hopes that the squad holding each other to account will spark a reaction and mark a turning point in the club's fortunes.

"They fell out between themselves after the game and that's the first time I've seen that for a while," Crossley told the Nottingham Post.

"We wanted that six weeks ago. Unfortunately it's gone from the game a bit where players fall out in dressing rooms.

"By doing that you tend to get a reaction and better performances.

"I hope that's the spark that can take us into Morecambe in that they realise the trouble we are in and they can hopefully get us out of it."

Notts will take on the Shrimps away at the Globe Arena this weekend, with Alan Smith taking the reins as caretaker manager for the first time after John Sheridan was sacked.

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Notts County player-coach Alan Smith has been placed in temporary charge of the first team while the club look for a new permanent manager.

The former Leeds United and Manchester United man replaces John Sheridan, who was sacked on Monday night after the Magpies were beaten 4-0 by Cambridge United, their ninth successive loss.

Smith, a Notts player since the summer of 2014, will be assisted by Mark Crossley, who will continue in his current role as assistant manager.

The 36-year-old told the official club site: “The most important thing right now is for everyone - players, staff and fans - to stick together.

“There’s no getting away from it, it’s been a very, very disappointing season so far. But there are lots of points still to play for and we are determined and confident of putting things right.

“The fans are doing their bit. Our following at Cambridge, given our recent form, was phenomenal. As players and staff we have to repay that loyalty.

“We have some huge games coming up, starting at Morecambe on Saturday and, until a new manager arrives, I will be working closely with Mark and the rest of the staff to hopefully lead an upturn in our fortunes.”

Notts County are set to be taken over by local businessman Alan Hardy after current owner Ray Trew agreed to sell the club in December.

It has been reported that the former will not appoint Smith on a permanent basis, instead wanting a manager with proven lower-league experience.

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