Notts County head coach Stuart Maynard has called for a strong response from his squad as they prepare for tomorrow's away fixture against Morecambe.
The Magpies head into the match on the back of their first defeat of the season, a narrow 1-0 loss to Gillingham. Despite this setback, County remain 4th in the League Two table, and Maynard is confident his side can return to winning ways.
Reflecting on the defeat to Gillingham, Maynard expressed confidence in his squad's overall performance, emphasising that their display did not reflect the result.
"I believe we were the better team within the game," he stated. "We should have been 2 or 3 nil up at half time. Even in the second half, we limited them to very few chances and created a lot ourselves."
Despite the loss, Maynard remains focused on the positives, pointing to the importance of maintaining performance levels as key to future success.
"Big moments within that game went against us," he said, "but the confidence in the group is very high. We’re firm believers in performance levels, and the performance levels all season have been very high. We’ve got to take that into Saturday now."
Maynard’s thoughts ahead of the Morecambe fixture reflect his awareness of the challenge posed by a side that has been struggling for points but remains competitive in every match.
"When you look at their scores, there’s always one goal within it," he observed. "They’ve probably been a little bit unlucky in a lot of their games that we’ve watched, with big moments not quite going their way."
The Morecambe game, Maynard added, will be anything but straightforward. "We’re fully prepared, we’re aware of what they bring, and we’ve got to be fully focused," he noted.
"This league’s relentless. You can’t look at league positions at this stage of the season, because there’s a lot of factors that determine why teams are where they are. Their performances have been very high, even if the results haven’t always followed."
In terms of team news, the head coach confirmed that Alassana Jatta, who has been side-lined with a concussion, will not be available for the trip to Morecambe. Jatta has returned to non-contact training, but the club is closely following the concussion protocols.
"We’ve just got to make sure that we manage it right with him because it’s a very serious thing with the concussion protocols," Maynard explained. "His welfare is more important than anything else."
Maynard also touched on the impressive progress of some of the club’s younger players, many of whom featured in the recent EFL Trophy clash against League One opposition.
"We believe in young players," he said. "If you’re good enough, you’re old enough. They didn’t just come in to make up the numbers, they performed to a very high level."
He singled out one young talent in particular, Kameron Muir, who made history by becoming the youngest player ever to make a first-team appearance for Notts County at just 15 years and 32 days old.
"He’s a special talent," Maynard praised. "He performs way above his age. He’s so level-headed and humble, which is a huge credit to him and his family. But we’ve got to manage him carefully."
Looking ahead to the game itself, Maynard is clear that Morecambe’s direct and aggressive style of play will pose a significant test for his side. "Morecambe are very committed to the press, very aggressive," he said.
"They put a lot of balls into the box, and we’ve got to be prepared to deal with that. But I believe we’ve got that within our group now."
With the challenges of Morecambe away tomorrow and Carlisle away just days later, Maynard is under no illusions about the demanding schedule ahead, both for the squad and the club’s loyal fanbase.
"It’s a huge credit to our fans, the way they travel up and down the country," he said. "The journey does take it out of you a bit, but we’ve got the right protocols in place to recover and be ready to go again."
For Maynard and his team, tomorrow's match at Morecambe offers the perfect opportunity to show resilience and re-establish their momentum as they seek to solidify their promotion ambitions.
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