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Joe Jones
Notts County have wrapped up their home fixtures for the 2016-17 League Two season with a 1-0 win over Blackpool at Meadow Lane on Saturday.
The first chance of the game came in the second minute when former Tangerine Mark Yeates curled wide of goal.
Blackpool then came close to taking the lead when Adam Collin spilled what ought to have been a routine claim, but the defence cleared just as Mark Cullen looked set to tap home.
The lead, however, came the way of Notts when Jorge Grant's free kick was palmed by Sam Slocombe into the path of Richard Duffy, who headed into the empty net.
Stead almost doubled County's advantage when forced a terrific stop from Slocombe, which denied him his 15th goal of the season.
Both sides continued to trade blows in the second half, with Collin keeping out a Neil Danns cross-shot that was sneaking in, and also held a late Brad Potts header as Blackpool searched for an equaliser.
Ultimately, however, the Magpies held on for the win, which ensured that Kevin Nolan has only lost one home game since taking the reins at Meadow Lane.
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has played down suggestions that Notts County are to make a move for Dover Athletic striker Ricky Miller, claiming that he costs a lot of money and could invest his budget more wisely.
The 28-year-old has scored 37 goals this season to top the National League goalscoring charts and was also named the division's player of the year.
Notts were quoted with an interest in the player both in January and heading into the summer, but Nolan says he could get "a lot of good players" with the money quoted for Miller.
"We have a long list of players who we are looking at and who we are considering," Nolan told the Nottingham Post.
"I have a meeting with Alan (Hardy, Magpies owner) this week about the budget and Ricky Miller is going to cost a lot of money.
"We were quoted a lot in January when we enquired about him, as we did with many others.
"But whatever budget Alan decides to give me, we have to get the best out of it. For the money you would pay for Ricky Miller you could get a lot of good players."
Nolan also hinted that he would be looking to the Premier League again for loan signings after Marc Bola, Josh Clackstone and Tahvon Campbell contributed to the Magpies' 2017 revival.
He said: "All of the loan signings we have brought in have been a success in their own way, not just for the impact on the field but in the dressing room or training pitch.
"We will definitely look to bring in players on loan and use that system because I think it's a great system.
"And I think a lot of Premier League clubs will look at us and be happy to send their players here because they know they will get a chance."
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Joe Jones
The first fixture between Blackpool and Notts took place on 28 November 1896 at Raikes Hall, and finished 3-2 to the Lancashire side.
A total of 58 games have taken place between the two sides, with Notts winning 19, Blackpool winning 24, and 15 draws.
The last fixture came earlier this season, on 12 November 2016 - a humiliating 4-0 defeat for Notts at Bloomfield Road.
Football had developed in Blackpool by 1877 when Victoria FC were founded as a church club with a ground in Caunce Street.
This team disbanded a few years later but some of its members are understood to have merged with old boys from St John's School to form a new club called Blackpool St John's.
But the two factions remained disunited and, on 26 July 1887, at a meeting in the Stanley Arms public house, the members resolved to wind up St John's and form a new club to represent the whole town called Blackpool Football Club.
Blackpool's most notable achievement is winning the 1953 FA Cup Final, the so-called "Matthews Final", in which they beat Bolton Wanderers 4–3, overturning a 1–3 deficit in the closing stages of the game.
During that post-war period, Blackpool made three FA Cup Final appearances in six years and, during the 1950s, had four top-six finishes in the Football League First Division, their best position being runners-up to Manchester United in the 1955–56 season.
In 1953, four Blackpool players were in the England team against Hungary at Wembley, causing the Daily Mirror to declare that "Blackpool are playing Hungary today", though England lost in a famous defeat.
Since the 1950s Blackpool's fortunes have varied, and when they won promotion to the Premier League, at the end of the 2009–10 campaign, Blackpool became the first club in English football to have won promotion from every division of the Football League via the play-off system.
Blackpool's least successful period was officially in the 1980s, particularly when, in the 1982–83 season, they finished 21st in English League football's lowest tier, their lowest-ever League finish.
Team news
Matt Tootle faces a race against time to be fit for Notts County's final home game of the season against Blackpool.
Tootle missed the defeat at Luton Town with a hamstring injury and should he not make it Josh Clackstone is likely to continue in his absence at right-back.
Midfielder Mark Yeates will hope for a recall against his former club while Alan Smith, Curtis Thompson and Jonathan Forte are also vying to be in Kevin Nolan's starting line-up.
Captain Michael O'Connor has been ruled out for up to nine months after sustaining a knee injury against Portsmouth and requires surgery.
Blackpool are just missing long-term absentees Jim McAlister and Jamille Matt.
McAlister broke his leg in early February while striker Matt has a hamstring tear that could rule him out for the remainder of the campaign.
Ian Black, Kyle Vassell and Bright Samuel are all options for boss Gary Bowyer if he decides to freshen things up, although his team have not conceded in their past three games.
The Seasiders are currently sixth in the League Two table and their goal difference is so superior to their rivals that four points from their final two fixtures should ensure they enter the play-offs.
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has once again insisted that the Notts County players whose contracts run out at the end of the season must prove themselves to their manager in the last two games.
The Magpies secured safety on Easter Monday against Portsmouth with several games to spare, but with neither promotion nor relegation at stake, the concern is the players may not perform to their full potential.
Nolan has already said several times over the last few weeks that he does not want the Notts players to take their foot off the pedal, reiterating their need to play for their Meadow Lane futures against Blackpool and Newport County.
"It's all about mentality and what the players want to achieve," he told the Nottingham Post.
"There are a lot of players out of contract, as we know, and they still have to convince me that for next season they want to be a part of this club.
"There may be players getting their heads turned by other clubs, you never know, but for their sake they cannot let the season peter out.
"You sensed there was a huge sigh of relief when we achieved safety a lot quicker than perhaps many thought.
"But now they have to show me their professionalism and their mentality moving forward for next year.
"I think I will learn about them more now, than when our backs were against the wall.
"You come out fighting and the lads did brilliantly with that, but now, with the pressure off, you've got to create the pressure from within yourself."
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Joe Jones
Mark Yeates has confirmed that he wants to stay on at Notts County past the end of the season and admits several other out-of-contract players do too.
The former Blackpool winger signed for the Magpies in January on a short-term deal which expires in the summer, alongside those of the majority of the players.
Yeates, who will face his former club on Saturday, says he gets on really well with manager Kevin Nolan and would sign a contract if it were put in front of him.
"The gaffer and I get on really well and I am sure we will sit down at some point," he told the Nottingham Post. "I am not the only one, there are quite a few boys he wants to speak to as well.
"All I can say is that it's a great club and I've really enjoyed it. We've done what the gaffer set out to, which is to keep the club in the division.
"Everybody can give themselves a pat on the back, but as for myself, I am not 100 percent sure what will happen.
"I've enjoyed it immensely. It's a great club and I've made some good mates. My relationship with the gaffer is one of the best I've had for a long time.
"If something was to be put in front of me then I would like to stay."
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Joe Jones
Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce has spoken fondly of Colin Slater and recalls the great relationship they had when he was at Notts County.
The BBC Radio Nottingham stalwart, who has covered more than 2,500 Notts matches for over seven decades, is retiring from commentary, although he will remain the station's Magpies correspondent.
Allardyce, who worked with Slater during his time at Meadow Lane between 1997 and 1999, has recalled how the 83-year-old helped him in learning to deal with the media.
"I was quite a young manager at the time and Colin [Slater] was a great stable backing for me in dealing with the media and talking to him privately about experiences all of his life was really good for me," Allardyce told the Croydon Advertiser.
"I had a great relationship with him in the near three years and it is fantastic to see he is still healthy and well. Enjoy your retirement mate, you deserve it.
"It is a dying breed, and dedication to the job is an understatement, but it is because he loves it and that is why he is so good at it."
Slater's last game as commentator will be County's trip to face Newport County next week.
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has confirmed that he will be registering again as a Notts County squad player next season.
The 34-year-old, who took over the managerial reins in January this year, registered this year but is yet to join his players on the pitch.
However, Nolan confirmed that he will be involved again as a squad member going into the new campaign, citing the injury to Michael O'Connor as an example of needing cover in midfield.
"I am going to do pre-season with the players and sign on as a player again," Nolan told the Nottingham Post.
"I know the chairman wants to see me in a black and white shirt, so I might just give him some of my Newcastle videos.
"But in all seriousness we are going to be missing Michael O'Connor and that's a massive loss to me and I am devastated for the lad.
"Because of things like that, I have to make sure I am available if we lose another midfielder.
"I might get the hunger back and decide I want a little go, but I will get fit and see how we go from there."
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Joe Jones
Alan Hardy has claimed that he did everything he could to try and keep Notts County Ladies afloat, but ultimately the numbers did not add up and so had to go ahead with "one of the toughest calls" of his career.
The Lady Pies folded last Friday, just two days before the start of the WSL Spring Series one-off season, prompting backlash from the team's players and fans.
Hardy dedicated his weekly Nottingham Post column to the club, writing: "It would be remiss of me not to focus this week's column on Notts County Ladies and the gut-wrenching and sad decision I had to take regarding their future.
"It is one of the toughest calls I have ever had to make because there were livelihoods at stake, and good, good, people at the heart of a fantastic club.
"I tried everything I could to find ways of maintaining the Ladies team here at Meadow Lane even though we would be regarded as the underdogs in a league including Arsenal, Man City et al.
"I revisited the numbers time and time again in what was a pretty exhaustive process and it gave me many sleepless nights.
"But the truth of the matter is the numbers just didn't stack up no matter how hard or how many times I looked at them and tried to make them work.
"I even enlisted the help of a marketing consultant, a lady who is well known within women's sporting circles.
"She held a senior position with Sport England and came on board for three months in order to build some momentum in terms of generating funding to help us avoid this scenario.
"We put a lot of irons in the fire and we thought there was more than a good chance of a strong outcome, but it turned out that every iron we pulled out turned cold.
"It was therefore extremely sad, and I was truly devastated to admit defeat.
"Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of what the Premier League clubs have which is the access to vast sums of money which they can afford to invest."
To read Alan Hardy's Nottingham Post column in full, click here.
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Joe Jones
Jon Stead says he would like to get a few more goals for Notts County before the end of the season and have the team carrying momentum into the 2017-18 campaign.
The veteran striker is currently on 14 goals from 36 League Two appearances, having beaten his tally for league goals last season - 11 - and level on last season's tally in all competitions.
Stead, whose future at Meadow Lane is far from certain, nonetheless insists that he wants the group to finish the current campaign strongly and target a promotion push next year.
"I'd like another couple of goals before the season ends," he told the Nottingham Post. "Even just to get to 15 would be nice as it's a round number.
"I just want to be consistent in what I am doing and as a group we want maximum points.
"We want to finish the season strongly and in confident mood so that we come back ready for a promotion push."
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has reassured Notts County fans that he will give the club all he's got as he cannot bear the thought of being out of a job and having regrets afterwards.
The 34-year-old has enjoyed a personal renaissance at Meadow Lane, as his first spell as manager at Leyton Orient ended with his first-team coaching duties being taken off him.
Orient's loss was County's gain as the Magpies have gone from relegation certainties to ending the season clear of League Two's bottom two, and Nolan says he will not let his own standards drop going into next season.
Nolan told the Nottingham Post: "I love being involved in football, I love working in it and I love playing it. The last thing I want now is to be out of a job.
"If I don't work as hard as I can, and don't give that 110 percent, to this club, to the lads, then when I lose it, or it's taken away from me, I will look back and I know it will eat me up."
Notts have two games left this season - Blackpool at home and Newport County away.
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Joe Jones
Notts County have confirmed that they will not be having an end-of-season awards night out of respect for the demise of Notts County Ladies.
On Friday, the Magpies announced that the ladies' club would be folding just days before the start of the Spring Series, putting its players - many of whom are internationals - out of a job.
As a result, Alan Hardy believes a celebration of the achievements of the club - whose men's team is now safe in League Two after months of relegation struggles - would be inappropriate.
Hardy told the official Notts site: “It’s been a very difficult week for everyone connected with Notts County – players, staff and fans.
"While Kevin and his team deserve recognition for all their hard work, I don’t think it’s right that we go ahead with an event of this nature.”
The site goes on to add that supporters who have booked their place at the dinner will be contacted by the club’s commercial department, with more information to follow in due course, while the awards will now be presented at this weekend’s match against Blackpool.
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has claimed that Notts County will play hardball over player contract negotiations and will not be "bullied" into offering higher salaries in case someone has a higher offer elsewhere.
With the exception of Adam Collin, Mark Yeates, Carl Dickinson, Michael O'Connor and Matt Tootle, every other player on the Magpie payroll will see their current deals expire this summer.
Nolan has already spoken of how he wants the out-of-contract players to give their all in the final few games of the League Two season to "make him want to keep them" as well as rejecting prospective new players who "have to think about" a move to Meadow Lane.
Now, the Notts manager has warned his players that he is not one for "haggling" over new deals, telling the Nottingham Post: "We don't want it where players are haggling over £20 here or £100 there. That's the mentality we have to have and we will be better because of it.
"We won't be bullied into offering an extra £100 just because a player may have an offer somewhere else.
"Alan and I will try to come up with a structure which is going to work for the club but also help us be successful on the pitch too."
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Joe Jones
Colin Slater has announced that he will be stepping down from Notts County commentary duties with BBC Radio Nottingham.
The 83-year-old, who began reporting on the Magpies in 1959 at the Nottingham Evening News and Football News before making his BBC Radio Nottingham bow in 1968, will continue as the club's correspondant on the station.
In an announcement on the BBC website, Slater said: "I have some personal news for you.
"I've been commentating on Notts County matches for nearly 50 years and I have made the decision that the time has come to step back from those duties.
"But next season I will still be around and I will still be heard on BBC Radio Nottingham - not as frequently but definitely from time to time, and in fact quite regularly, and I hope that you'll join us then. Thank you."
His last commentary for BBC Radio Nottingham will be the Magpies' trip to Newport County on May 6, almost 50 years after he was first heard on the airwaves.
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has expressed his sympathy for Michael O'Connor as the Notts County skipper faces nine months out through injury.
The Magpies midfielder suffered cruciate ligament damage in the 3-1 defeat to Portsmouth on Easter Monday and was carried off on a stretcher before half-time.
According to the Nottingham Post, O'Connor was sent to Derby for scans last week and they revealed a ruptured ligament that will require surgery once the swelling has subsided.
"I am devastated for Michael," Nolan told the newspaper. "He was an integral part of our team and he is our skipper.
"He still will be going forward and we will work our socks off to make sure he gets the best attention so we get him back as quickly as possible.
"We are not going to rush him. We will give him all the time so he can come back the same Michael O'Connor as before he got injured.
"I was little disappointed in the challenge which led to it. I know the lad isn't malicious but as a footballer you know it's not a good tackle.
"He's been brilliant since I came in and hopefully now he can just concentrate on getting himself back to full fitness and return to the top-notch player he is."
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Joe Jones
Notts County boss Kevin Nolan has reiterated the need to have momentum going into next season's League Two campaign and urges his out-of-contract players to "make me want to keep them".
With the exception of Adam Collin, Mark Yeates, Carl Dickinson, Michael O'Connor and Matt Tootle, every other player on the Magpie payroll will see their current deals expire this summer.
The club secured safety last Monday despite falling to a 3-1 defeat against Portsmouth, before the weekend brought a 2-1 loss at Luton Town, which left Nolan unimpressed.
"I just thought we came away from the things we have done which have brought us so much success," Nolan told the Nottingham Post.
"I said to the players that the next week will be all about getting back to those basics. Once we do that, then you see the better football.
"I gave them a bit of a rollicking at half-time, because in the first half certainly, we looked a team that had guaranteed safety and were going through the motions.
"That's now how I want to end the season. I want momentum going into next season's campaign. With a lot of the players out of contract they have got to make me want to keep them."
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Pride of Nottingham is an independent fansite devoted to Notts County, the world’s oldest professional football club. Created in 2013, it has served as a source of Magpie news, features, match previews, reports, analysis and interviews for more than three years.

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