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Joe Jones
Notts County captain Michael O'Connor has claimed that his side are well placed to enjoy a tilt at promotion this season.
The Magpies currently sit sixth in the table after 15 games played in League Two and just two defeats in their last eight.
"Our aim at the start of the year was to get promotion," the midfielder told the Nottingham Post.
"To be sitting sixth at the start of November is good. We'd like to be a bit higher, because we've dropped points when we thought we could have had three points – like on Saturday when we missed a penalty.
"I think if you'd asked me at the start of the season if I'd be happy with being sixth now, I would have taken it. We're still in the mix.
"We have a good set of lads who want to work hard. We've got one or two players who can turn games for us and we've got some experience, so we've got a bit of everything in the team.
"We just need a bit of consistency now. We just need to keep picking up points here and there, then, hopefully, come March, April, May we're up there."
Notts will be turning their attention to cup competitions as they face Boreham Wood and Sunderland's Under-23s in the coming seven days.
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Joe Jones
Haydn Hollis has claimed that going back to basics has helped him rediscover his form for Notts County.
The 24-year-old came under criticism numerous times over the last year but he was a key player for the Magpies against Portsmouth and Luton Town.
Asked about his performances over the last two games, Hollis told the Nottingham Post: "I think I've been good, but that's expected of me.
"You've just got to head, kick it and just do the basics right.
"That's what I've done - I've gone back to basics.
"But people are being very kind because I think everybody out there has been as good as each other."
Hollis was given a new one-year deal at Meadow Lane in the summer.
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Joe Jones
Notts County manager John Sheridan has refused to blame Vadaine Oliver for failing to convert a late penalty in Saturday's League Two goalless draw against Luton Town.
A foul on Haydn Hollis in the final ten minutes of the game gave the Magpies a chance to edge ahead, but goalkeeper Christian Walton was able to make the save and help the visitors to a point.
"I am disappointed we haven't come away with three points and for any neutral watching the game they would have seen two decent teams," Sheridan told the Nottingham Post.
"They probably had a bit more possession in the first half, but they are a good side.
"But we came away with a clean sheet and I think it was a great effort from the players.
"We had them on the back foot a lot more than we did in the first half.
"If we had scored the first goal I think we would have gone on to win the game.
"We had the chance with the penalty, but I won't put blame on anybody for missing a penalty.
"But if we had scored from it then we would have won and that would have been deserved for the way we went about the game.
"The fans were excellent and got right behind the team. It's a crying shame that we haven't got the points."
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Joe Jones
Notts County have played out a goalless draw against Luton Town as Vadaine Oliver failed to convert a late penalty in Saturday's League Two clash at Meadow Lane.
In a tight game of few clear-cut chances, Aaron Collins hit the bar with a header in the first half, while for the visitors, Jack Marriott saw an effort fly narrowly wide, before Danny Hylton slipped when trying to shoot.
A foul on Haydn Hollis in the final ten minutes of the game gave the Magpies a chance to edge ahead, but goalkeeper Christian Walton was able to make the save and keep the visitors in the game.
From the resulting corner, Carl Dickinson could have won it but he headed against the bar, while Hylton found himself in a good position late on but was thwarted by a Notts defender as it ended honours even.
The result means that Notts stay sixth in the League Two table on 22 points, though the division is so tight that only six points separate them from Exeter City, Hartlepool United, Wycombe Wanderers and Cambridge United - all hovering above the drop zone.
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Joe Jones
Adam Campbell has claimed that Notts County are more than capable of beating Luton Town in today's game at Meadow Lane.
The Hatters are fourth in League Two and are unbeaten in their last seven games in all competition.
Notts, however, have stopped the rot with a superb result at Portsmouth last weekend, winning 2-1 against one of the most dangerous teams in the division.
In addition the Magpies have won their last two games against Luton, beating them 2-0 on their own patch back in January.
"It's a tough game, but people said that last year when we went to their place and turned them over," Campbell told the Nottingham Post.
"We will be looking to do the same again and it's down to us to get the three points.
"All the players are buzzing. We've beaten Portsmouth and everybody is laughing, joking and there is a real feel-good factor about the place."
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Joe Jones
Notts County and Luton Town have faced off 68 times in their history.
The first meeting came in January 1912 when the Magpies secured a 4-2 away win in the FA Cup.
Luton dominate the head-to-head with 34 wins over Notts, 19 draws and 15 defeats.
Out of the 10  matches between the two that have taken place since the turn of the century, Notts have won four, drawn three and lost three.
Luton Town Football Club was formed on 11 April 1885, the product of a merger of the two leading local teams, Luton Town Wanderers and Excelsior.
The club was the first in southern England to turn professional, making payments to players as early as 1890 and turning fully professional a year later.
It joined the Football League before the 1897–98 season, left in 1900 because of financial problems, and rejoined in 1920.
Luton reached the First Division in 1955–56 and contested a major final for the first time when playing Nottingham Forest in the 1959 FA Cup Final.
The team was then relegated from the top division in 1959–60, and demoted twice more in the following five years, playing in the Fourth Division from the 1965–66 season. However, it was promoted back to the top level by 1974–75.
Luton Town's most recent successful period began in 1981–82, when the club won the Second Division, and thereby gained promotion to the First.
Luton defeated Arsenal 3–2 in the 1988 Football League Cup Final and remained in the First Division until relegation at the end of the 1991–92 season.
Between 2007 and 2009, financial difficulties caused the club to fall from the second tier of English football to the fifth in successive seasons.
The last of these relegations came during the 2008–09 season, when 30 points were docked from Luton's tally for various financial irregularities.
Luton then spent five seasons in non-League football before winning the Conference Premier in 2013–14, securing promotion back into the Football League.
The club's nickname, "the Hatters", reflects Luton's historical connection with the hat making trade, which has been prominent there since the 1600s.
The nickname was originally a variant on the now rarely seen straw-plaiters. Supporters of the club are also called Hatters.
Luton is associated with two very different colour schemes - white and black (first permanently adopted in 1920), and orange, navy and white (first used in 1973, and worn by the team as of the 2015–16 season).
Team News
Notts County striker Jon Stead is expected to be ruled out until Christmas after injuring his ankle against Crewe Alexandra two weeks ago, although the club are still waiting the results of a scan.
Michael O'Connor and Vadaine Oliver are fit again, while Genaro Snijders and Curtis Thompson are back in training.
Luton's eight-goal striker Danny Hylton is back from suspension after sitting out their match against Mansfield Town last week following a five-booking haul.
Teenage midfielder James Justin is also back in contention following a calf injury sustained in the warm-up at Leyton Orient two weeks ago.
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Joe Jones
Luton Town defender Alan Sheehan has pledged not to celebrate if he scores against Notts County unless he gets a hostile reception from the fans.
The 30-year-old is well known among the Meadow Lane faithful, having played 142 times for the Magpies between 2011 and 2014, as well as during a three-month loan spell from Bradford City last season.
As Notts host the Hatters on Saturday, Sheehan had kind words to say about the fans and said he would mute his fanfare should he score against his former side.
He told the Luton website: “I don’t think I would (celebrate). People have those clubs that they’ve played for, and out of respect, I don’t think I’d celebrate.
“I enjoyed my time at Notts County. People were very good to me there, so unless they boo me from start to finish, I don’t think I’d celebrate.
"Obviously I’d have to score first, so we’ll decide if that happens. But the fans were always great to me there, so I appreciated that.”
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Joe Jones
Notts County striker Jon Stead is set to be out of action until Christmas, club manager John Sheridan has claimed.
The 33 year-old forward, who has scored nine goals in League Two this season, has not featured for the Magpies since injuring his ankle against Crewe Alexandra on October 15.
"I spoke to Steady about two days ago," Sheridan told the Nottingham Post.
"I've not spoken to the physio regarding the results of the scan.
"I would have expected that if they had the results back they would have come and told me, but he's still a bit sore.
"I don't like putting timescales on things, but the physio says we are looking at six weeks, then it's a case of diagnosis and how he is healing.
"We are probably looking towards Christmas probably.
"It's very disappointing as a team, and for him as a lad, because he was scoring goals.
"He probably would have scored a couple more in the time he has been out so it's a big downer."
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Joe Jones
Adam Collin has expressed his desire for Notts County to stop making "silly mistakes" at the back in a bid to help the club further up the table.
The Magpies held on for an impressive 2-1 win at Portsmouth last weekend, with the man in between the sticks putting in a strong display.
Up next for sixth-placed Notts is Luton Town's visit of Meadow Lane and Collin highlighted the errors in goal and defence as something that needs to be cut out.
He told the Nottingham Post: "We'd like to keep more clean sheets obviously.
"It gives us a solid base but it's hard to put your finger on it.
"We've got good players who are doing well in spells.
"Even when we are losing we don't actually think we are playing that bad.
"It's just silly mistakes that are costing us goals and it's been frustrating more than anything.
"But we are sixth in the league going into November and that's definitely a real positive."
Original article can be found here.
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Joe Jones
John Sheridan has described Adam Campbell as "probably the brightest footballer" at Notts County, but admits that he can get idle at times.
The former Newcastle United forward struck twice at Fratton Park on Saturday to give the Magpies an impressive 2-1 win over Portsmouth.
"He's a lovely footballer, and he's very clever," Sheridan told the Nottingham Post.
"He's probably the brightest footballer at the club.
"He is the one who has what I call a 'gear change'. He knows when to slow down, stand still and so on. His two finishes were excellent and I think he should score more goals.
"But he's one of them who I think gets a little bit lackadaisical so I am going to have to keep on top of him.
"Just before he scored, I had a go because I thought he should have been doing a bit more.
"But he had a little glance at me when he scored as if to say 'here you are gaffer, stick this up your backside'. I love that."
Original story can be found here.
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Joe Jones
Former Notts County boss Martin Allen motivated his players ahead of a derby against Nottingham Forest by walking half-naked into the River Trent at five in the morning.
The story is another of the anecdotes featured in the book One Flew Over the Magpie's Nest, written by lifelong Magpies fan Paul Mace and containing stories from former players, managers, directors and fans.
Following Monday's revelation of Roberto Mancini almost taking the reins at Meadow Lane, it was revealed on Tuesday that the ex-Notts boss, nicknamed Mad Dog, went the extra mile to try and gee up his boys ahead of the League Cup tie at the City Ground in September 2011.
The extract reads: "I was so intense and focussed for the game. I didn't think Forest were any good. I thought we could beat them.
"At 5am on the morning of the game, I went to the back of the Trent End by the River Trent to shoot a motivational video for the players. I went along with our rather bemused video journalist Dane Vincent.
"I explained to the players on the video to have no fear. Play with your shoulders back and your head up and we will beat them; play with fierce determination and fantastic self-belief and if we do that we will beat them. You must have no fear.
"At which point I took off my shirt, tracksuit bottoms and shoes. It was freezing cold. I stared down the barrel of the lens. 'You must have no fear.'
"And with that I walked into the river in my pants. It was like something out of a Monty Python film. Off-camera behind me, someone was walking their dog and looked at me in amazement. I walked down the steps and dived in to completely submerge myself.
"The water was freezing. As soon as I went in I wanted to get back out straight away. My body was so cold. I shivered, came out and looked down the lens of the camera again.
"I put on my clothes and then started to run along the embankment into the distance. It was very funny, the players loved it. There was passion, self-belief and I had done it on the enemy's territory on their side of the river."
The game finished 3-3 after extra time before the Reds won it on penalties.
One Flew Over the Magpie's Nest is available online now at www.nottscounty1862.co.uk/order/ or at the Notts club shop from Saturday.
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Joe Jones
Notts County were on the verge of appointing Roberto Mancini as manager during the Munto season, Sven Goran-Eriksson has revealed.
The sensational anecdote is reported in a new Notts County book titled One Flew Over the Magpie's Nest, written by lifelong fan Paul Mace and containing stories from former players, managers, directors and fans.
The Italian coach, who had just won three successive Serie A titles with Inter Milan but was sacked to make way for Jose Mourinho, had agreed a four-year contract worth £12m, the book reveals.
Only a last-minute change of heart by Sven, who began doubting the realities of the seemingly perfect financial situation at Meadow Lane, saw him contact Mancini and tell him not to put pen to paper.
"This was the first time I realised all was not as it should be," the book quotes Sven as saying.
"I knew Roberto well from my days at Sampdoria. I was manager and he was a player and a coach with me. He had left Inter Milan and was out of work when I came to Notts County.
"At Notts we spoke about Mancini and I arranged for him to come and talk to the club.
"Roberto came with his representative to London to meet with us - Russell King and Nathan Willett were also present.
"We spent a full day talking in London about the project and the plans for the club. Roberto was keen and wanted to come. It was agreed that he would become the head coach under myself as the sporting director.
"Everything was confirmed, he had agreed to come. The financial terms were not a problem. We broke up for the day and it was our agreement that Roberto would join Notts County as head coach.
"I went into Meadow Lane the following day but still everyone was talking about money. It seemed to be the case that we were always talking about money or a lack of it. Where was the money?
"I started to wonder and have doubts. I did not want to be responsible for bringing Roberto to Notts County and for it to go wrong. It would have reflected very badly on me.
"I rang him and said I do not think that you should come at this time. You are better off staying where you are in Italy. At that point he was still being paid by Inter Milan.
"As it all transpired, there was no money. I did speak to Roberto again after that when he contacted me as he still wanted to come to the club but I could see that things were getting worse not better.
"It was definitely the right decision that Roberto did not come to Notts County. It all turned out well for him because a couple of months later he joined Manchester City."
One Flew Over the Magpie's Nest is available online now at www.nottscounty1862.co.uk/order/ or at the Notts club shop from Saturday.
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Joe Jones
Notts County boss John Sheridan has confirmed that the club will be appealing Aaron Collins' red card in their 2-1 win at Portsmouth on Saturday.
The on-loan Wolves striker was dismissed late on when he appeared to collide with Pompey goalkeeper David Forde while charging down a clearance.
Sheridan was furious with the decision and told reporters after the game: "He hasn't touched him. I've seen it on the video.
"Aaron stupidly has made an effort to block the ball, but there's no maliciousness in it.
"You could say both feet are off the ground, but he hasn't touched him.
"It's a bit of a joke to get him sent off and the referee hasn't even seen it.
"I am going to appeal it because I have seen the video. I am hoping we will get off with it."
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Joe Jones
Notts County goalkeeper Adam Collin has claimed that his side's ability to adapt to their opponents' game was crucial in sealing victory at Portsmouth.
Following the Magpies' 2-1 win at Fratton park, he told the official website: "I'm delighted with the result mainly.
"Obviously I'm really pleased with my performance, but getting three points at a really tough place like this is the main thing.
"They dominated the first half - we adapted at half-time and, especially with 10 men, we looked solid and compact and came out deserved winners.
"We've said it since the start of the season: we want to be up there challenging. If you want to do that you have to come to places like this and get positive results, and that's what we've done.
"Hopefully that sets a good marker to everyone else in the league - they'll sit up and take notice.
"I've felt my game's been in good shape over the last few weeks and I've just brought that into today.
"It's a great place to come and play football with a fantastic crowd - 17,000 is a Championship-level crowd - and we enjoyed the occasion.
"It was a battle, I'm just glad we came out on top."
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Joe Jones
Notts County climbed into the League Two playoff places after an impressive 2-1 win at Portsmouth on Saturday.
The hosts began brightly at Fratton Park but John Sheridan's charges went on to take the lead in the 21st minute through Adam Campbell.
A good ball from Richard Duffy allowed the former Newcastle man to coolly loft the ball into the far corner of the net.
County's defensive flaws flared up once again six minutes later as Conor Chaplin latched onto a neat cut-back from Gary Roberts and confidently guided the ball home for the equaliser.
Kyle Bennett then had the chance to give Pompey the lead five minutes into the second half but his header from a Carl Baker cross flew just wide.
In the 71st minute the visitors were ahead again when Jonathan Forte ran clear and played an inch perfect pass into Campbell, made the most of sloppy defending to bury the ball into the bottom corner.
Pompey were given hope when the Magpies were reduced to 10 men with 13 minutes left after Collins flew in late on David Forde and got a red card for his troubles.
However, Notts hung on to clinch their fifth away win of the season and climb to sixth in the table.
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