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Joe Jones
Notts County boss Kevin Nolan says he will not be monitoring Saturday's League Two results, insisting that the team will be responsible for its own destiny.
The Magpies are playing on Sunday this week, due to scheduling conflicts with regards to the team on the other side of the Trent.
It means some of County's relegation rivals have a chance to close the gap on Nolan's side, who are currently eight points above the bottom two,
Nolan, however, admits he will use the occasion to have some down time ahead of the Barnet fixture.
"I've got the family coming over, which is lovely. I haven't seen them for a couple of weeks because we've been working hard and been in every day," Nolan told the Nottingham Post.
"It will be a bit of down time with them, enjoying their company.
"It probably will be on in the background, but it's not about anybody else, it's just about us. That's what I've always said.
"It's us who is going to determine whether we stay in this league or we don't; no-one else.
"We don't want any favours from anyone. We've just got to make sure we continue to do our job.
"If we continue to do what we have been doing, we'll be okay."
He added: "Playing on a Sunday makes no difference to me, I don't know whether the lads feel a bit different.
"I much prefer a Saturday kick-off. I love a Saturday 3 o'clock kick-off. I think that's gone away from the game too much, with all these Sunday, Monday, Friday kick-offs.
"I won't be paying too much attention. It's about us. Even when the lads say after a game, 'they won' or 'they lost', I just say, 'it's got nothing to do with us'. We will decide our own fate."
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Joe Jones
Haydn Hollis has praised Notts County manager Kevin Nolan for giving him a lot of confidence and changing the mentality in the dressing room.
Since Nolan took over at Meadow Lane, alongside Alan Hardy's acquisition of the club, the Magpies have gone from League Two relegation certainties to being well in with a chance of staying up.
"Personally, he has given the squad a lot of confidence; he has given me a lot of confidence," Hollis told the Nottingham Post.
"He has said some good things about me in the press, which has been really nice and it makes me believe in myself. I'm sure he's done that with others.
"It's brilliant for me to hear and it makes me want to do well for him. I want to do it for myself as well.
"I was never low, but it's always nice when someone is good with you and believes in you.
"It makes you feel like you can do it. If someone believes in you then you're going to believe in yourself.
"He's just changed the mentality of the place. It was never a bad place to come to work. We're all lucky to be professional footballers, but it's a good place.
"You get up in the morning now and you look forward to coming to train because it's a good place. We have a laugh, but on the other side it's really serious as well.
"I think everyone is buying into what he believes. And that's the way forward, everyone has to buy into what he believes if we're going to be successful."
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Joe Jones
Jon Stead has revealed how close he was to leaving Notts County in the January transfer window because of how frustrating it was to be at Meadow Lane under the previous owners and manager.
Speculation had emerged linking the striker with a move to the United States as the Magpies were freefalling towards the bottom of League Two, John Sheridan in charge at the time.
However, Stead decided to stay put until at least the end of the season, when his contract expires, after Alan Hardy took over the club and Kevin Nolan was appointed manager.
"The way the season was progressing with the previous manager, he made it quite clear the players were all available to leave," Stead told the Nottingham Post.
"Things weren't going well and it was a frustrating place to be at, so I had to look at my future, given my contract is up at the end of the season.
"There's my age as well, which is something I don't like to talk about, but I will be 34 next month and I like to think I have a lot of football ahead of me.
"It would have been a big change because I've had 16-17 years of playing football in the UK.
"It's something that came up so I looked at it the same way as I would anything else.
"The appointment of Kevin changed my mind 100 percent. I spoke to him a couple of days after the Mansfield game and made him aware of the situation.
"We were in a transfer embargo at the time and he said he couldn't let me go. I understood the decision and the more I've seen of the gaffer and his staff, the more I like."
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Joe Jones
Alan Hardy has thanked Notts County's fans for getting behind the new owner and increasing the Meadow Lane gates by almost 70 percent since his arrival.
Writing in an exclusive column for the Nottingham Post, Hardy said: "Securing our Football League status has been my ultimate focus since assuming ownership at Notts County.
"But bringing the crowds back to Meadow Lane has been a huge, huge part of that objective.
"I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am that Kevin Nolan and the players have been gathering those precious points.
"And how delighted and humbled I am with the response from Notts County supporters and the whole of the public of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
"I'm informed that for the six home games since the takeover was completed, we have averaged 7,350 fans per fixture . A truly marvellous achievement.
"Compare this with the average crowd from August to January which was 4,380. That's an average of 2,790 extra fans per game - or, put another way, an increase of 68 per cent.
"Stand up Notts County fans and take a bow. You deserve it."
To read Alan Hardy's full column on the Nottingham Post, click here.
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Joe Jones
Notts County fell to an unfortunate and controversial 3-1 defeat at Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday night.
The visitors took the lead through Richard Duffy, but strikes from James Coppinger and John Marquis either side of the break put Donny in the lead.
Notts thought they had equalised when Haydn Hollis headed home in the second half, but the flag went up to rule the goal out, much to the bemusement of the travelling contingent.
Andy Williams then sealed the win by adding a third for the hosts in stoppage time as Notts sent goalkeeper Adam Collin forward.
The official Notts page on YouTube has posted the highlights - judge for yourself whether Hollis's disallowed header should have counted or not.
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Joe Jones
Notts County boss Kevin Nolan has hit out at the match officials in charge of Tuesday night's League Two fixture at Doncaster Rovers, which ended in a 3-1 defeat for the Magpies.
The visitors took the lead through Richard Duffy, but strikes from James Coppinger and John Marquis either side of the break put Donny in the lead.
Notts thought they had equalised when Haydn Hollis headed home in the second half, but the flag went up to rule the goal out, much to the bemusement of the travelling contingent.
Andy Williams added a third for the hosts in stoppage time as Notts sent goalkeeper Adam Collin forward, and Nolan was at a loss to explain why Hollis's goal was snuffed out.
"I still don't know why the goal wasn't given," he told the Nottingham Post. "It's the most disappointed I have been with the officials since I've been in management. I thought they were poor from start to finish.
"Why it was given for a free-kick I will never know. I've had a look at the video and I still don't see. I spoke to the referee briefly after the game and told him what I thought.
"It was disappointing because I thought the lads were fantastic."
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Joe Jones
Notts County have stumbled to an unfortunate 3-1 defeat at the hands of Doncaster Rovers in Tuesday night's League Two clash at the Keepmoat Stadium.
The Magpies took the lead in the 20th minute when Rovers failed to deal with a corner from the left and Richard Duffy reacted quickest to prod home from close range, his third goal of the campaign.
However, the hosts equalised just before the break through James Coppinger, who was on hand to rifle Matty Blair's low cross across Adam Collin and into the far corner of the Notts net.
And not long after the restart, Rovers were in the lead as Coppinger turned provider, whipping in a cross that Mathieu Baudry headed into the top corner.
Just after the hour, Kevin Nolan's charges thought they had equalised when a Michael O'Connor corner was nodded home by Haydn Hollis, but the flag was inexplicably up to snuff out the goal.
Notts launched everything they had in attack in second-half injury time as Collin went up for a corner, but Rovers managed to break and, with the goal unguarded, substitute Andy Williams guided the ball into an empty net to seal their win.
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Joe Jones
Notts County owner Alan Hardy has accused former manager John Sheridan and the League Managers Association of 'trying to run a coach and horses through the concept of respect in football' after appealing his dismissal for gross misconduct.
The 52-year-old was sacked by Hardy in January, just over three weeks after a verbal outburst at officials during the Magpies' 2-0 defeat by Wycombe Wanderers in mid-December, and the Notts owner admitted that Sheridan was let go due to gross misconduct rather than the side's poor form.
The Football Association handed out a five-match touchline ban and Hardy has hit out at both Sheridan - now managing at Oldham Athletic again - and the LMA for appealing his dismissal.
"I was astonished to receive notification from the LMA that Mr Sheridan has decided to appeal his dismissal," Hardy said in a statement released to Press Association Sport.
"We have sent back an extremely robust five page document re-affirming the transparent reasons behind our course of action.
"As well as being owner of Notts County, I am heavily involved in youth football, running a series of teams at Under 8s and Under 10s.
"Every week I see the influence that the professional game has on young boys and girls from as young as six years old.
"The conduct shown by Mr Sheridan towards the match officials in this instance was nothing short of scandalous. I am not prepared to tolerate any member of my staff abusing referees and officials in this manner.
"I fully appreciate that the League Managers Association have a duty of care to represent their membership.
"But surely even a professional body like the LMA realise they are being asked to defend the indefensible.
"Mr Sheridan clearly believes this 'industrial language' is used in everyday workplaces. Not in my place of work, it's not. And nor at my football club.
"The FA clearly felt that it was a case of the gravest nature.
"A five match touchline ban is one of the lengthiest and strongest punishments they have issued to any manager this season.
"For me, this is not just about John Sheridan, the LMA and Notts County.
"This case has much wider significance and repercussions for the English game as a whole.
"Over the past years, the FA have instigated a series of very admirable 'Respect' initiatives designed to improve conduct across the game.
"I'd think we'd all agree that excellent progress has been made but that much more clearly still needs to be done.
"Mr Sheridan and the LMA are effectively trying to run a coach and horses through the concept of respect in football. Potentially, they can set us back years if they continue to appeal the decision.
"Needless to say, we will be contesting any appeal by Mr Sheridan and the LMA, but I do genuinely think people should consider their actions very carefully before embarking on a course which may embarrass themselves in particular and the game of football in general."
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has admitted that he is looking to get Notts County past the 50-point mark as quickly as possible.
With just 10 games to go this season, the Magpies sit on 40 points, eight ahead of the bottom two in League Two.
Nolan says he is taking it a game at a time, with a tricky visit to table-topping Doncaster Rovers awaiting on Tuesday night.
But with Notts back on form, the manager is taking the opportunity to draw up more of a mid-term goal.
"We have gone with the attitude that we will try to get to 50 points as quickly as possible and then we will reassess when we get there," he told the Nottingham Post.
"But what we are looking at right now is three points and the next game.
"My plan is just about Doncaster and what we can do to make sure we give our team the best chance of beating them.
"Everyone says 50 is the safe mark in football but you just never know in football."
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Joe Jones
Notts County have met Doncaster Rovers 55 times over the years, with the first fixture coming on the 13th December 1930. On that occasion, an FA Cup tie, the Magpies triumphed 1-0.
Doncaster hold the most slender of advantages in the head to head - we've won 23 times, lost 24 times, and drawn 8 times.
The club was founded in 1879 and turned professional in 1885. They have spent the majority of their playing history between the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system and are one of four clubs to win the Division 3/League Two title three times, the last being in 2004.
Football League rules state that any team who wins a trophy three times can keep it. However, when Rovers tried to retain ownership of the actual Third Division trophy, the Football League claimed that Rovers could not keep the trophy because the league names had changed from Fourth to Third Division, and so they had not won that particular league three times.
The team's mascot is a brown dog known as Donny Dog, who wears the red and white Rovers jersey.
Before a scheduled appearance during the game against Huddersfield Town at the Galpharm Stadium on 4 March 2006, police prevented Andrew Liney from entering the stadium in costume, citing unspecified "police intelligence", and refused him permission to wear any part of the costume within 50 metres of the stadium. Mr Liney later received a full written apology for these unfounded allegations from the head of West Yorkshire Police.
The mascot was next portrayed by Tracy Chandler and in June 2011, she was relieved from the position after she posed in her underwear for a Sunday newspaper. Later in the same week she was reinstated back as the club's mascot.
Arguably the club's most famous fan is One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson. The 25-year-old had agreed to play in a charity game at the Keepmoat several years ago to raise money for the Bluebell Wood Charity and was offered a deal by Donny to join the club on non-contract terms after impressing in the game.
Team news
Doncaster striker Liam Mandeville has suffered an injury setback and will play no part against Notts.
Mandeville had been hoping to return to the squad for Saturday's home win against Cheltenham after being ruled out since early February with an ankle injury, but strained a thigh in training on Friday.
Boss Darren Ferguson has no new injury or suspension problems and could be tempted to name the same starting line-up.
Midfielder Gary McSheffrey is likely to start on the bench again following his recent return from a long-term knee injury, while defender Joe Wright, Aaron Taylor-Sinclair and Lee McCullough (all knee) are still out.
Notts have captain Michael O'Connor available after serving a two-match ban but Magpies manager Kevin Nolan must decide if his skipper goes straight back into midfield.
Jon Stead and Curtis Thompson will need to prove their fitness after both players missed the home win over Hartlepool at the weekend.
Striker Stead has a dead leg while midfielder Thompson has a slight hamstring niggle.
Both will be given as long as possible to make themselves available but French defender Thierry Audel may not make the matchday squad again, despite being fit.
Carl Dickinson, Alan Smith and Adam Campbell are among the other options at Nolan's disposal should he make changes.
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Joe Jones
Shola Ameobi has expressed delight with getting his first goal for Notts County, and thanked manager Kevin Nolan for having faith in him.
The striker signed on a free transfer for the Magpies in early February and opened his account for the club in Saturday's 2-1 win over Hartlepool United at Meadow Lane.
"Listen, I'm playing. This is what it's all about. I'm thankful to Kevin (manager Kevin Nolan) for having the belief in me," Ameobi told the Nottingham Post.
"It's great to be back in a dressing room with people who want to work and do things the right way. I'm a striker. Goals give you confidence.
"I've never been a striker who bags loads of goals, but for me it's all about the team, all about winning.
"If I score, great, if I help the team, great. I'd rather have the three points.
"Hopefully it's the first of many goals, but like I say, the team is the main thing.
"It was a big game. The first goal was always going to be important. I thought it would come from the penalty.
"It's been a while since I've taken one. The keeper made a good save.
"We didn't let our heads down. Fortunately for me the chance came and I put it away.
"The manager told us not to get down at the break. He made sure we went out with all guns blazing.
"Jorge (Grant) put me in and I'm delighted to get the goal. It's been a while coming but I'm delighted."
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Chris
Pride of Nottingham were at Meadow Lane for Notts County's 2-1 victory over Hartlepool United on Saturday March 11.
The Magpies took the lead via Shola Ameobi, who scored his first goal for the club and made amends for missing a penalty earlier in the match.
Loanee Jorge Grant then struck a wonderful long-range effort to put Notts two up, ensuring that Haydn Hollis's unfortunate own goal proved little more than a consolation for the visitors.
Before the game, PON spoke to several fans to ask them several questions, including whether manager Kevin Nolan should play, thoughts on thoughts on Alan Hardy's season ticket renewal price freeze, opinions on the new pitch and a prospective new scoreboard, and of course the score prediction.
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Joe Jones
Shola Ameobi's first Notts County goal and a Jorge Grant stunner helped boss Kevin Nolan keep his unbeaten home record intact as the Magpies beat fellow strugglers Hartlepool United 2-1 at Meadow Lane on Saturday.
The former Newcastle United striker saw a penalty saved in the first half, but he went on to make amends by opening the scoring shortly after the restart, and the lead was doubled through loanee Grant's strike from outside the box.
Despite Haydn Hollis's unfortunate own goal, Notts held out for all three points.
Here are the highlights from the game so you can relive these moments.
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has hailed Notts County's great character, spirit and togetherness as they claimed another three points in a 2-1 win over Hartlepool United.
The Magpies went two goals up through Shola Ameobi - who had earlier missed a penalty - and Jorge Grant, while Haydn Hollis's unfortunate own goal proved not to make a difference to the points haul in the end.
Nolan told the official Notts site: "The lads showed great character, great spirit, great togetherness - everything you want when you’re down at the bottom. I’m proud and delighted for them.
"I thought we dominated, but when we missed the penalty it got a bit jittery. It was just about calming them down at half-time and getting them to think clearly again."
The manager also singled Grant out for praise after bagging his fourth goal in seven appearances, a ferocious curling strike from outside the box which sailed into the top of the Pools net.
Nolan went on: "Jorge has been fantastic. The lad's delighted be to here. I'm delighted to have him. Hopefully we keep him for a bit longer.
"We'd definitely like to have him beyond the end of the season. He should be playing week in, week out.
"When he gets that football he blossoms and then he can move up. Hopefully we're the club that gives him that chance to blossom.
"It was a first class strike. I'm delighted for him."
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Joe Jones
Notts County have rebuilt an eight-point gap between themselves and League Two's bottom two with a 2-1 victory over Hartlepool United at Meadow Lane.
The Magpies were given a chance to take the lead after 28 minutes as Lewis Hawkins handled the ball to gift the hosts a penalty, but Shola Ameobi's weak effort from the spot was pushed onto the post by Pools goalkeeper Joe Fryer.
However, the veteran striker made amends for his miss just after the restart, Jorge Grant slipping him clean through on goal, and the 35-year-old bore down on goal, picked his spot and slotted a low finish underneath Fryer.
Grant then went from provider to scorer in spectacular fashion as he controlled a clearance from a corner just outside the box, lined himself up and curled a wonderful shot above everyone and right into the top of the visitors' net.
Hartlepool made it a nervy finish when they halved the deficit 12 minutes from time, Nathan Thomas forcing a goalline clearance from Richard Duffy, only for the ball to rebound off the unfortunate Haydn Hollis and into the Notts goal.
Nonetheless, Kevin Nolan's charges succeeded in holding their opponents at bay and were able to celebrate the final whistle under a lengthy standing ovation by the Black and White Army as their unbeaten home run under the new gaffer continues.
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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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