Roy Carroll: 'Stop worrying about the playoffs'

Notts County captain Roy Carroll has called on his teammates to stop stressing on the objective of reaching the playoffs, insisting that he and his fellow players need to “take each game as it comes”.

The Magpies missed out on the change of closing the gap to the top seven in League Two in the last week by drawing at Wycombe Wanderers and losing heavily to Carlisle United.

First-choice goalkeeper Carroll told local media: “We are not thinking about the top seven places. We just have to take each game as it comes.

“If you get too far ahead of yourself that's when things start falling apart. That's what I think a lot of players have been doing – thinking about the playoffs.

“What we have to do is work hard. We’ve got a big game against Hartlepool on Boxing Day when we will look to try to get a result and a clean sheet. That's got to be the priority.”

Ricardo Moniz's side are seven points off the playoffs as things stand, with the post-Christmas trip to Hartlepool followed by a home clash against Morecambe.