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Joe Jones
Notts County boss Kevin Nolan has singled out goalkeeper Adam Collin and midfielder Michael O'Connor for praise following their respective displays in the 2-1 win over Carlisle United.
Collin made up for failing to save Jabo Ibehre's shot for the hosts' opening goal with a great save from the striker one-on-one, while O'Connor impressed after coming off the bench for the last 25 minutes.
"I think Adam will be disappointed and he has already held his hand up about the first goal," Nolan told the Nottingham Post. "But you have seen a reaction from him because he then saves a one on one with Ibehre later on in the game.
"Adam has been absolutely first class since I came in and the problem with playing goalkeeper is that if you make an error you are often punished for it. But when you look at it, he has saved us the three points.
"Although the first goal went in, the save from the one on one was absolutely fabulous. He won't be getting any gripes from me, but he'll probably beating himself up more than I will be having a go at him.
"Michael O'Connor was a real positive coming on for us. It would have summed up a fantastic afternoon for him if he had scored. He definitely made an impact on the game and it was a massive one."
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Joe Jones
Notts County put in another impressive display to claim a 2-1 win over Carlisle United in Saturday's League Two clash at Brunton Park.
It looked like the Magpies' winning run would come to an end at Brunton Park when substitute Jabo Ibehre put the Cumbrians ahead and the clock began to tick over into the 80s.
However, Jon Stead drew Notts level in the 85th minute before Matt Tootle struck a winner heading into injury time to make it four wins on the trot for Nolan's boys.
Here are the highlights from the game on the Notts official site.
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has found himself beaming once again after yet another impressive Notts County display and result in Saturday's 2-1 win over Carlisle United.
It looked like the Magpies' winning run would come to an end at Brunton Park when substitute Jabo Ibehre put the Cumbrians ahead and the clock began to tick over into the 80s.
However, Jon Stead drew Notts level in the 85th minute before Matt Tootle struck a winner heading into injury time to make it four wins on the trot for Nolan's boys.
The result not only all but confirmed League Two safety, with 13 points' distance between the 15th-placed Magpies and second-from-bottom Newport County with just 15 points left to play for, but with just 10 points between Notts and the top seven, there is even talk of an audacious tilt at the playoffs.
"The away form is looking a lot better now and a lot healthier since I came in," Nolan told the Nottingham Post. "I thought we thoroughly deserved the points and I thought we handled them really well.
"I was a bit disappointed with the goal we conceded. I thought we could have cut it out a lot earlier.
"I was delighted with the reaction of all the boys and then from the lads who came on. Their attitude and application when they came on to the pitch was just brilliant. That's why you have a squad and that's why I talk about it all the time."
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Joe Jones
Not even the most optimistic of Notts County fans would have honestly believed that their beleaguered team, reeling from 10 consecutive defeats and on their way out of the Football League, would be heading into the last five games of the season closer to the League Two playoffs than to the bottom two.
But that's exactly what has happened, as the Magpies now boast a four-match winning run after two late goals overturned what appeared to be a defeat at Carlisle United into a 2-1 victory at Brunton Park on Saturday.
The opening exchanges of the match were somewhat scrappy but Notts soon got the upper hand and Shola Ameobi was unlucky not to open the scoring midway through the first half when his header was cleared off the line by Shaun Brisley.
The second half started with Jon Stead trying his luck with an effort which Mark Gillespie had covered, while Matt Tootle blazed another attempt wayward and Adam Campbell fired a volley over as both sides battled to take the upper hand.
Despite County's probing play, they were sucker-punched when Jabo Ibehre, who had come on as a substitute for Carlisle less than a minute , gave the hosts the lead with a powerful shot which dumbfounded Adam Collin on the way into the net.
However, Kevin Nolan's boys persevered and found themselves level five minutes from time when Stead made the most of a mix-up between Brisley and Gillespie to bundle home from close range for his 14th goal of the season.
That wasn't the end of it, and Notts went on to win the game outright thanks to a 90th-minute strike from Tootle, who let rip from range and, despite Gillespie claiming the ball, he let it bobble out of his hands and into the net.
The result puts Notts 15th in the table, 10 points off seventh and 13 ahead of Newport County, who are enjoying a mini-revival of their own with a second consecutive win, but with just 15 points to play for this season, it's very unlikely for Notts to slip back into trouble, given the miracles worked by Nolan.
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has revealed that he is eager to his future at Notts County beyond his current 2018 deal.
Earlier this week, Alan Hardy let it be known that he is in talks with Nolan over a new three-year contract at Meadow Lane, following his impressive spell in charge so far.
Nolan told the Nottingham Post: "I'm delighted that we can now open discussions about maybe extending the stay. I'm sure they will be quite smooth talks.
"I think the most important thing is that we put that to bed, we get me and my management team sorted so that it bodes well for when we are talking to new players for next year, and the current squad, so they know it's settled.
"I think a lot of them under the last regime were very unsettled in what was going on.
"But now they're seeing I've got the full backing of the boss and hopefully it will go a long way to making a few of them feel more familiar or more settled in the fact that they are signing a contract with a club going forward."
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Joe Jones
Carlisle United and Notts County have met 31 times since their first clash back in October 1959, a Fourth Division clash that was won 2-0 by the Cumbrians.
Out of those, the Magpies have won 16 and lost 12, with just 3 draws.
Our last meeting was on New Year's Eve last year, losing 3-2 to the Cumbrians at Meadow Lane.
Carlisle staged their 'home' fixture against Notts at Preston North End's Deepdale stadium in December 2015 due to floods in Cumbria which impacted on Brunton Park as well.
Carlisle is one of the northernmost clubs in the Football League, just 10 miles from the Scottish border, and one that’s normally mentioned among the most difficult away days – talk of “Carlisle away” is one for the most hardcore fans, especially in midweek (Newcastle United are further north than Carlisle, however).
The Cumbrians have spent a season in the top flight, back in 1974-75, and recorded a double over Everton, as well as home victories over eventual champions Derby County, former titleholders Ipswich Town, Arsenal, Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers. They were relegated at the end of the season though.
Carlisle is the smallest location, by population, to have had a resident top-flight English football club since 1906. Prior to this, Accrington FC, Darwen, Grimsby Town & Glossop North End were smaller.
Despite their small stature, the club has experience moderate success with regards to silverware – they have won a Third Division title back in 1965, two Fourth Division championships in 1995 and 2006, and two Football League Trophies, back in 1997 and 2011.
Carlisle are famous for one of the most dramatic Great Escape scenarios in all of English football, when on-loan goalkeeper Jimmy Glass scored in the last 10 seconds of their final game of the 1998-99 season against Plymouth Argyle to keep the Cumbrians in the Football League at the expense of Scarborough.
Team news
Jason Kennedy and Jabo Ibehre have returned to fitness after injuries and may play a part for Carlisle on Saturday after being unused substitutes last weekend.
Recent signing Ben Tomlinson is hoping for a first appearance for the Cumbrians but Nicky Adams is a doubt as he continues to struggle with a hamstring injury.
Shaun Miller serves the second game of a four-match suspension after receiving his second red card of the season in the defeat to Crewe a fortnight ago.
Notts hope to have captain Michael O'Connor back in contention for the trip to Cumbria - he missed last weekend's win over Colchester after bruising his foot in training but should be fit to play at Brunton Park.
Winger Mark Yeates will definitely be absent as he completes a three-game ban following his sending-off at home to Barnet last month.
Left-back Marc Bola has recovered from a hamstring problem and should be included in the Magpies' squad.
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Joe Jones
Alan Hardy has admitted that he wants the Meadow Lane pitch relaid to make it fit the way Notts County want to play next season.
The Notts owner announced earlier this year that the pitch is to undergo work in May.
"When we played Doncaster a few weeks back, I looked at the pitch and thought it was great," Hardy told the Nottingham Post.
"Ours isn't that conducive to the way we want to play, which is why we are having work carried out come the end of the season.
"It doesn't help that the sun never gets to the side of the pitch where the Derek Pavis Stand sits because the stand overshadows much of that surface in front of the dugouts.
"So we have looked at it and the last time there was work on the pitch was seven years ago.
"The plan is that we are going to take the top 18 inches off and complete the new pitch ready for next season.
"Personally, I love seeing players like Marc Bola, who are fast, skilful and young, driving down the pitch and moving the ball about at speed.
"That's the style of play the manager wants so I thought it was best to give them a surface they can really play on."
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Joe Jones
Alan Hardy has revealed that he is in talks with Kevin Nolan over a new three-year contract at Notts County.
The former Leyton Orient manager, whose current deal expires at the end of next season, has taken the Magpies from relegation certainties to the brink of League Two safety since his appointment in January.
However, should a Premier League club come calling for the 34-year-old, Hardy vows not to stand in his way.
"We are currently negotiating a new three-year contract with Kevin," the Notts owner told the Nottingham Post. "As a result of us being safe, and I now believe that is the case, it's the appropriate thing to do.
"Talks began on Wednesday and, in an ideal world, I really would like all the negotiations to be concluded before Good Friday.
"It's no secret as to what I think of Kevin and the job that he has done here. He has been magnificent and he is pivotal to the journey we want to go on. There was never any doubt in my mind that he was going to be successful.
"I am really happy for him to have a clause in his contract that if a Premier League club comes in for him, then he should be allowed to go. There is no way I will stand in his way.
"My whole business life has been about mentoring, encouraging and growing people as individuals, as professionals and as people. If a Premier League club comes in for him then I shall shake his hand and wish him well."
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has suggested that he will not make wholesale changes at Notts County at the end of the season.
The Magpies are now all but safe in League Two following a revival spearheaded by Nolan and new owner Alan Hardy.
Prior to the takeover, there had been a lot of criticism of the Notts players, but the vast majority of them now have new leases of life and have been performing admirably in recent weeks.
This has not gone unnoticed by the Notts boss, who says that he will add more quality to the squad whilst looking to keep the spine intact going into next season, and will also seek to blood in more academy prospects.
"There are a lot of lads here now who have bought into what we are trying to do," Nolan told the Nottingham Post.
"Hopefully there will be a lot of them we would like to keep and then it will be a case of trying to add more quality.
"We also have an academy which is also flourishing and we have a blank canvas in how we are going to deal with that.
"We are going to make sure we get the right people in the right roles to take that forward."
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Joe Jones
Alan Hardy has revealed how Notts County have been the subject of interest from a group of investors looking into buying the club, just a few months after his own takeover.
Writing for the Nottingham Post, Hardy suggested that the sort of numbers they were thinking of to purchase Notts was high, but the answer was "a very firm no".
He wrote: "As the date was April 1, I suspect many believed I was on a wind-up, but I can confirm that this wasn't the case and the offer was bonafide and genuine.
"It started when my accountants received a phone call out of the blue last week from a group of investors who own a football club in a continental league.
"They were looking to buy into a European club side that has potential. I don't think it's the first time they have looked at Notts, because they may have had a sniff in the days of Ray Trew.
"But with the club looking like it could have been relegated, it perhaps put them off because Football League status is everything.
"Now we are technically clear of that, and we can see the fantastic progress we are making on and off the pitch, they asked if there was any possibility of having some early discussions.
"My accountant, being my accountant, asked what sort of numbers they were thinking of and we were pleasantly surprised.
"But while it was nice to receive such interest, my response was a very firm no. We are on a journey here at Notts County, one which we have only just started.
"We are absolutely loving it, we are making great progress and believe me, we are only at start of what I believe will be a wonderful ride.
"My plan is to take this club to the Championship, but of course, it's still very flattering that a serious organisation would consider having some discussions with us."
To read the rest of Alan Hardy's column on the Nottingham Post, click here.
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Joe Jones
I must admit, it's a strange feeling to be sitting here and having virtually no issues with my beloved Notts County at present. Everything is going pretty much hunky dory and I have no complaints about how things are going at the club. It's very pleasant and refreshing to be in a state of no anxiety and worries after years of putting up with hell.
From mid-2013 until early 2017, supporting Notts was difficult. In the beginning anyway. It then became little short of torture, with the occasional reprieve here and there (usually cup games, or the summer when there was no football on).
Winston Churchill once uttered a memorable quote which went: "If you're going through hell, keep going". And frankly, that was what supporting Notts felt like for quite a while. And it's difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you're in the eye of the storm.
Hence why, after four years of hell, it's almost beyond belief that things have turned around in the space of three months. The players have gone from liabilities to star performers, the wins are coming, and a freefall into oblivion is now all but history.
We've been lucky. Very lucky. For the old regime to go out relatively seamlessly - for fans, anyway - and Alan Hardy to come in and effectively strike gold with the vast majority of decisions he's made, it's absolutely fantastic, but to think it almost didn't happen and that we could be in the same boat as Leyton Orient right now, it is unnerving.
But hey ho. At this stage I'm honestly not concerned about playoffs next season, promotion or anything like that. Would be incredible if things went that way, but at the moment I'm making the most of this serenity. The good atmosphere in the stands, the decent football, the good results, and the knowledge that this summer is likely to bring surprises of a good kind rather than anxiety and dread.
And next season, just so long as the team tries, the football is of decent quality, the results are more often than not positive, and I can get up on a matchday actually looking forward to the game instead of wishing I was having my teeth pulled without anaesthesia instead, then this old boy is happy.
So thank you, Alan, and thank you, Kevin, for being our club's salvation - and for stopping Notts fans from having football-related mental breakdowns.
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has expressed his interest in forging closer links with Arsenal in light of Marc Bola's successful loan spell at Notts County.
The young left-back, a product of the Gunners academy, is developing well at Meadow Lane, and has said himself how being at Notts is helping him grow and prosper as a footballer.
Nolan is hoping that glowing reports all round will not only enable Bola to return to the Emirates Stadium as a better player, but that the Premier League club will entrust Notts with more loanees in future.
"I said to the boss (owner Alan Hardy) the other day that I want teams to think that we are the ones who will look at youngsters and not be afraid to put them in," Nolan told the Nottingham Post.
"If you are good enough, you are old enough, in my opinion. You will see that if I feel that the lad is ready then he will be going into the team.
"Marc Bola, for example, has flourished since he has been here. He will go back to Arsenal a better player.
"With the relationship we have with Arsenal now, if they have another four or five in the pipeline, when we do ring up about them, I hope there is no hesitation because they know they'll get looked after."
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Chris
The spirit shown by the Notts County squad against Colchester United was very impressive – from the kick off our team looked interested and keen to get a result. Whilst there was still some concern with the defence for me, for the most part we looked the better outfit.
I do however have one gripe with Adam Campbell, who simply allowed the game to pass him by.
In recent weeks I had been calling for him to be given a chance, and prior to Saturday I felt that he may be suffering from a lack of confidence, but even now I find it very hard to defend his performance against the U’s. It simply wasn’t acceptable for me under this passionate Kevin Nolan side.
Saturday was Campbell’s first start in the Notts XI since Accrington Stanley back at the turn of the new year – for over 3 months he has largely been an unused sub sitting on the bench and I would acknowledge that normally he offers 100% in terms of effort but I didn’t feel we saw half of that on Saturday.
It’s disappointing to watch a player casually walk around and generally refusing to move into space or to be that player that can help create a chance.
After 8 minutes, Notts took the lead and this gave a massive boost of confidence to the approach the Magpies took.
Yet during the celebration, I noticed that out of the various players who ran as flock to congratulate Haydn Hollis for his opener – Campbell strolled very slowly but remained out of the cheerful harmony between those really up for it.
It was hard to picture what his exact role was, if he was playing as our left-sided midfielder - his pace could have been interesting to see in a direct approach.
Don’t get me wrong, I actually think he has potential and I would recall his earlier performances when we as a club were doing well. That’s the Campbell I would have liked to see feature, the player who tries to get involved and always wants the ball played to his feet.
However, after Saturday it’s hard to defend him or to acknowledge any potential that would warrant a new contract.
He’s not the only player I felt played below an acceptable level, with a replacement fit on the bench – it’s not hard to figure out who I mean.
Yet from a team performance perspective this offender was contributing to the cause and generally did look like he was trying – which I would naturally give him credit for but in Adam’s defence, I simply can’t say that.
After the player who I’ll leave from naming put in a poor challenge, Adam stood glued as a spectator – as he did for the majority of the game.
Robert Milsom noticed the space that was made available from the lack of concentration, which I personally feel the watching Campbell should have noticed – perhaps he did?
I wouldn’t take anything away from Chris Porter's finish. It was class, yet considering the improvements made across the field in terms of performance and individual responsibility, this wasn’t on. Before you think I’m blaming him for the goal, this isn’t my point – it’s the lack of effort on his behalf that annoyed me.
There’s a lot of passion being shown throughout the squad and yes it’s a large improvement, even Jorge Grant's comments to the U’s keeper made me smile after Shola Ameobi had scored his first goal of the game.
I just feel it was a lost opportunity for Campbell to stamp his mark on returning to the starting 11. I’d like to have seen him running at players or just trying to get involved more, a player like him could attract space – whereas this isn’t the case when he’s static.
He spoke after the game about it being ‘good to be back playing’ but it didn’t look like it at all to me.
I know I’m not the only Notts fan who feels this, there were plenty of comments expressed at half time and even during the game. If I sound like this harsh, you should have heard the calls for him to exit the field from where I sat.
If he retains a place against Carlisle United, I would expect to see a large improvement – as it's hard to see how he would warrant a contract extension.
As an opinion that was expressed to me, he’s had two years now and he repeatedly fails to capture a steady flow of performances – which perhaps his work rate may have saved but if this is the level we have to accept we are best releasing him.
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has revealed that Shola Ameobi was given the opportunity to be subbed off in Saturday's 3-1 win over Colchester United, but turned it down as he was so eager to bag a hat-trick.
The former Newcastle United forward scored twice against the U's, in a win which keeps the Magpies 13 points clear of the bottom two in League Two.
Nolan told the Nottingham Post: “You get that from him (Shola) day in, day out. Now you’re seeing a fit Shola.
“We’ve been able to manage him, keeping him on the training pitch as well as on the pitch on a matchday.
“I did ask him in the 90th minute if he wanted to come off but he said ‘No, I want my hat-trick!’. That just shows what he’s thinking of all the time – it’s first class.”
Ameobi's brace on Saturday was his first in nearly seven years, when he scored two in a 5-1 win for Newcastle over Sunderland in October 2010 to go alongside a hat-trick by none other than Nolan.
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Chris
Pride of Nottingham was at Meadow Lane on Saturday 1 April to see Notts County take on Colchester United.
The Black and White Army was treated to a great performance from the Magpies, which culminated in a 3-1 victory thanks to goals from Haydn Hollis and Shola Ameobi.
The result meant that Notts maintained a 13-point gap between themselves and the bottom two in League Two, giving them yet another massive boost in their fight against relegation.
PON spoke to a number of Notts fans before the game to get their opinions on a number of subjects, including whether they thought the club was safe or to wait until mathematical certainty, and which out-of-contract players should be offered a new deal at the end of the season.
Find out what they said by watching the video below.
Share your thoughts about this week's Meet the Fans video on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans.

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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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