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Joe Jones
Head to head
Notts County and Newport County have met a total of 49 times over the years, the first fixture coming in 1930, which the Magpies won 3-2.
The head-to-head record is skewed in the Magpies’ favour, with 26 wins, 9 draws and 14 defeats.
Our last meeting was earlier this season, a 3-0 hammering of the Exiles at Meadow Lane.
Of particular note is the penultimate meeting, in May 2017, the last game of last season, and Newport won 2-1 at Rodney Parade to avoid the drop to the National League.
Our record league win is against Newport – an 11-1 hammering. We have also beaten them 5-0, 6-2, 7-0, 6-0 and 8-1 over the years.
Notts have only failed to score once in their last 14 meetings with the Exiles in all competitions (W8 D2 L4), netting 30 goals in those matches.
Stats
Newport have lost three league games on the bounce, scoring once while conceding 10. They haven't lost four in a row in League Two since January 2017 (eight games).
Notts County have only won one of their last 10 League Two games on the road (D5 L4), failing to keep a single clean sheet during that spell.
Jorge Grant has been directly involved in four goals in just two league appearances against Newport County for Notts County (three goals, one assist), more than he has against any other side for the Magpies.
History
Newport, originally nicknamed "The Ironsides" due to Newport being home to Lysaght's Orb Works steel works, started out in the Southern League in 1912 at Somerton Park.
The official name of the club was The Newport & Monmouth County Association Football Club, although the shorter Newport County was soon adopted.
The club were reformed in 1919 and were first elected to the Football League in 1920.
Newport were Welsh Cup winners in 1980 and subsequently reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winner's Cup in 1981.
The club was relegated from the Football League in 1988 and went out of business in February 1989, but reformed shortly afterwards and entered the English football league system at a much lower level.
In 2013 the club then won promotion back to the Football League for the first time since 1988.
In the 1970s and 1980s comedian Frank Carson was appointed as a Director and Vice President in order to raise the profile of the club.
Newport-based rappers Goldie Lookin' Chain are also supporters of the club and were the team's shirt sponsors for the 2004–05 season FAW Premier Cup matches.
Team news
Newport are without defender Scot Bennett for Notts County's visit in Sky Bet League Two.
Newport defender - and former Notts player - Scot Bennett will be out after suffering a hamstring injury and won't be back for four to eight weeks.
Mark O'Brien is set to return as Exiles boss Michael Flynn ponders switching to three at the back following Tuesday's 5-0 thrashing at Mansfield Town.
Veteran striker Paul Hayes is fit again after a groin problem, while Josh Sheehan and Emmanuel Osadebe could bolster the midfield.
Notts manager Kevin Nolan must decide whether to restore 17-goal top scorer Jorge Grant to the starting line-up after he looked jaded over the last few weeks.
Alan Smith should return to the squad after being on antibiotics, while Shaun Brisley missed out in midweek through illness and might struggle to regain his place as Brighton loanee Ben Hall did well on his debut.
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Chris
Prior to this past Tuesday’s game against Carlisle United at Meadow Lane, Kevin Nolan spoke about how there was ‘no mini crisis' happening at Meadow Lane.
At a glance, it does seem that the two home game defeats against Crawley Town and Exeter City could be labelled down to a mistake in switching from a successful formation, whereby the tactics truly did work well with our system.
However, the post-match interview did leave some questions when Nolan himself ranted about ‘the players don’t listen’, ‘we would have been okay if they had’ and that he believed some of them had started believing ‘their own hype’.
The majority of fans I know merely don’t want to see Notts lose their focus, which for me has been the case – I feel the poor performances in recent weeks stem from a lack of confidence.
Meanwhile, the heavy defeat in the FA Cup is something which would have naturally impacted on the players' confidence, yet provided we cover the basics and work hard – Notts should be fine.
This season has seen some amazing results and for a while it seemed unlike Notts – yet again in the recent weeks things have been very disappointing.
The nonsense after losing two games really disappointed me, as for the first time this highlighted how we had lost or focus on what really mattered.
Focusing on ‘some’ silly comments and projecting them as if the majority of fans wanted Kevin Nolan out just seemed quite surreal for what seemed like a small error on the manager's part – again most people just feel like the league table position is something we need to fight for.
It’s vital we regain some consistency within League Two, whilst ensuring focus and improved performances.
This is the stage of the campaign whereby clubs that lose their momentum really do struggle and I do believe that we are capable of continuing the form.
Coming into the 2017-18 season I would have happily accepted mid-table and, truth be told, I still would – provided that everyone within the Notts County camp fought for it.
I wouldn’t really say we have been unlucky, some may say that we should have beaten Swansea City in the first tie and this would be fair – yet the two defeats from the formation switch in my eyes really did impact the harmony of the squad. Especially at a point when new faces were coming into the squad and then we reverted away from something we had been incredibly successful with.
I also personally hope that this recent thing is nothing more than just a loss of focus from the pressure which is mounting on the club – the level of expectations might have increased but honestly most fans I know are sensible and will back the club wholeheartedly.
It’s time to see Notts return to improving, focusing on what they did right in the earlier part of the season and hopefully we can cut down on the changes being made to the starting line-up.
Fingers crossed this virus issue goes away, yet for me this cannot be used as an excuse.
I am hopeful that a win against Newport County might bring a fresh amount of belief within the club and, that we might be able to focus on our away form which hasn’t been the best this season.
It’s important we have a real crack at securing promotion this term and, I only believe it’s possible with the right focus. So let’s forget the past few weeks, let’s avoid blaming the match officials and lets just drive Notts across the finish line.
COYP!
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Chris
Notts County travel to Newport County on Saturday on the back of a victory against Carlisle United which provided much relief to the club's contingent and fans, keeping the Magpies in the playoff places.
The Exiles are much improved this term compared to previous seasons but go into this game having lost their last three in League Two.
Pride of Nottingham takes a closer look at Newport's form, key players and tactics in this weekend's Scouting Report.
Head to head
Notts have met Newport 49 times in competitive action: 26 games have been won by the Magpies, 14 by the Exiles, and there have been 9 draws.
Newport won this fixture 2-1 at the tail end of last season, which saw the Exiles survive in the Football League by the skin of their teeth and prompted a pitch invasion at Rodney Parade.
They haven't beaten Notts in consecutive home matches in the Football League since March 1971.
The Magpies have only failed to score once in their last 14 meetings with the Exiles in all competitions, netting 30 goals in those matches.
Run-down of their last six features
Saturday 13th January – Grimsby Town 1 Newport County 2
Friday 19th January – Newport County 2 Crawley Town 1
Tuesday 23rd January – Newport County 1 Morecambe 1
Tuesday 30th January – Lincoln City 3 Newport County 1
Saturday 3rd February – Colchester United 2 Newport County 0
Tuesday 13th February – Mansfield Town 5 Newport County 0
The Players – Fact Sheet
Highest Goalscorers: Padraig Amond 11, Shawn McCoulsky 11, Frank Nouble 8 and Joss Labadie 6.
Persistent Foulers: Joss Labadie 10 yellow cards and 1 red card, Frank Nouble 9 yellow cards, Ben White 7 yellow cards and Matthew Dolan 6 yellow cards.
The Key Players
Former Notts midfielder Joss Labadie has been influential in Newport County’s midfield, providing assists and attacking support, and also goals to his own tally.
On his day he can be a force to be reckoned with and he’s one of those players in League Two who can be considered a game changer.
In attack, they have three very attacking minded players in Frank Nouble, Padraig Amond and Shawn McCoulsky – the latter being a player who causes many headaches for his counterparts' defence.
Ben White is also a tricky player who likes to get forward and frequently challenges his rivals with a mix basic skill and hard work.
Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses
The Exiles are one of those teams you can’t just predict how they will play, but looking at their form and goals conceded you would have to fancy our chances on the day, provided Kevin Nolan’s men put in a true performance of their ability.
At the back they’re very dodgy, a mix of poor zonal marking and a lack of applications means they are often punished by school boy errors at the back.
On the ball, they are comfortable in possession and can make good use of it.
However, they do tend to be wasteful and a lack of confidence is a major knock towards how they play or even express themselves on a pitch.
If their opposition scores early or dominates the game, they generally struggle – yet hard work can often see them claw themselves back into games.
It does look like their poor form is mostly down to the sheer amount of goals conceded, so it would appear likely that Notts could cause further problems by ensuring they break carefully and take any chances that present themselves on goal.
As I say, defensively Newport do not look like a very good team and if we can bypass their physical side we should do well.
The key would be to keep the ball moving promptly, whilst making good movement in and around their back four.
Any chances from free-kicks must be used wisely and, I can see an effort easily going in if a chance presents itself – the Exiles keeper seems prone to missing saves from the top right corner.
Notts must be strong in possession and, ensure that they play with strength in numbers but must avoid losing concentration at the back.
Provided our defence and keeper do their jobs, it should be fairly straight forward but much of this will come down to how Kevin Nolan’s men play.
There should be too many changes, and certainly 4-4-2 would give Notts some comfort, yet I would avoid isolating the front by using one striker – as they will play into the hands of Newport’s style of play which is common for League Two.
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has stressed that Notts County will need to ensure they adapt properly to Newport County's pitch when they play the Exiles on Saturday.
The Rodney Parade turf sees three teams play on it - the football club and two rugby teams - which means plenty of wear and tear, and criticism over its quality.
Despite three quarters of a million pounds being invested into the pitch by the Welsh Rugby Union last summer to improve its drainage, it continues to have issues.
Just last week, Newport's fixture with Forest Green Rovers was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch, but Nolan says it cannot be used as an excuse and will want his players to suss the surface out during the warm-up.
“I am not going to be using any pitches as an excuse,” he told the Nottingham Post. “We are both going to be playing on it. We will have 11 men and they will too.
“It’s up to our lads to make sure they get accustomed to it as quickly as possible.
“That’s why you have warm-ups because you find out what footwear is needed, what the pitch is like and where most of the grass is be it on the sides or in the middle.
“That’s what they should be thinking of when they go out there to do the warm-up.”
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Joe Jones
Former Notts County loanee Ryan Yates has revealed he "jumped" at the opportunity to join Scunthorpe United on loan and reiterated his desire to become a first-team player at Nottingham Forest.
The 20-year-old was sensational for the Magpies in the first half of the season, making 29 appearances in all competitions and scoring six goals plus registering three assists.
However, his time at Meadow Lane came to an end when he was recalled by Forest on January 10 and shipped out to Glanford Park a day later.
Since then Yates has made just three appearances for the Iron, totalling 120 minutes of football, but he outlined his hopes of success both at the League One club and his employer.
“As soon as I heard the genuine interest from Scunthorpe I jumped at it because I want to challenge myself and play as high as I can, and this is a great place for me to be,” he told the Scunthorpe Telegraph.
“These boys want promotion and that’s the only aim. It’s all the players spoke about when I got it, the attitude is that we are getting promotion – I love that.
“I want to keep learning every day. I am only 20 and I know I can learn a lot from these players. I want to keep learning, playing and enjoying myself, and I am enjoying myself a lot at this club.
“We had that winning mentality at Notts County under Kevin Nolan and it is exactly the same here.
"The manager is relentless all the time. Every day in training we are at it because we have big goals we want to achieve by the end of the season.
“I want to prove myself at this level and show people that I have what it takes.
"It’s going to be fantastic for my development, hopefully we have a successful season here and I’ll go back to Nottingham Forest a better player.
“I am contracted to Nottingham Forest, have been there since I was eight years old, so it would be fantastic if I could break into the side.
“It would mean everything to break into the first-team at Forest. They have some really top players there who have played at the highest level.
“If I am going to get in, I know I will need to go back there in a really good condition with great experience.”
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samwatto2008
So after what seemed like a good Christmas period, it seems that Notts County have gone into switch off mode ever since.
We set off the year with a positive result against Port Vale winning 1-0 at home. We then went on to proceed to the 4th round of the FA Cup against Swansea City after a sublime strike from Jon Stead against Brentford put us into the pot for the next round.
With morale seeming to be at an all time high at Meadow Lane and coming into the new year with bags of confidence, it didn’t seem like anything could stop Notts.
So where did it start to go wrong?
Well, we ended our unbeaten home record against Exeter City who quite frankly couldn’t buy an away win at the time of beating us. That put a real gloom over Meadow Lane and I think it hit the players hard that we are still beatable at home and we should not let standards drop.
However that message clearly didn’t get through.
Outrageous behaviour from Ross Fitzsimons 3 days later, to put it straight, cost us two points. Crawley were a good side in form and having a point from that match looked like a good result.
So after 2 consecutive defeats at Meadow Lane and sickness from Matt Tootle I think the players and manager were knocked down a few pegs.
We then won 4-1 in front of a record home crowd against Crewe Alexandra, which was such a positive performance I think everyone left that game with a smile on their faces.
Then... an embarrassing display of football saw us lose 8-1 to Swansea and then lose to Barnet who are bottom of the league 1-0. This was the confirmation fans needed to know that County were officially in a slump.
Although Tuesday brought about a 2-1 win over Carlisle United, the performance nonetheless left question marks and doubts remain going forward.
How do we fix it?
So our next 3 fixtures are as follows:
Newport County vs Notts County
Cambridge United vs Notts County
Notts County vs Stevenage
So out of these next three games, if we are still serious about promotion we need to be looking at 6 points out of a possible 9.
In my opinion we should be looking at wins across the board, excluding Newport which look a real unit at the moment, especially at home.
Cambridge are currently without a manager and by the time we play them I think it will still take time for their players and manager to gel.
As for Stevenage, well they are a bang average mid-table team. We need to pick up points now, as we enter a vital period for a promotion push.
Who can we rely on?
This is bound to spark a debate in the comments but this is my personal opinion of who I think is going to be crucial in the run up the end of the season.
Mason Bennett – I know he got injured at Barnet but I would hope we could see him back fit for the start of March even for the Stevenage game if we’re lucky. His pace is frightening for League Two defenders top cope with and I think him and Jorge Grant could be a real threat and kill off games early which is what we need to do.
Matt Tootle – He can defend and attack and can always mark a striker with pace. He puts in 100% effort and can really change a game and flip it on its head. His quality in defence in attack can help link up play in areas we could maybe use to our advantage.
Noor Husin – Well this lad is superb, his passing ability is amazing in my opinion and his work rate is fantastic. I think Husin, Grant and Bennett could really work well together and for a young prospect he has some real talent and could possibly go on to be a class midfielder. His cutting edge passes and long shots could be something Nolan looks to take advantage of.
After being away from the site for a while due to work I am keen to get back in touch with PON members and create more content to get a response from fans and see what they think. The question I want to ask you PON members is, Who do you think can turn this slump around? Let me know in the comments below and I hope to be writing another piece soon.
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Joe Jones
Hello and welcome to episode 41 of the Pride of Nottingham PONcast, presented as always by Chris and JJ.
In this week's episode we discuss Notts County's League Two win over Carlisle United, with a look at both the tactics used in the game and the significance of bouncing back from the previous week's defeats.
We then move on to the hammering at Swansea City in the FA Cup and the loss at League Two bottom side Barnet, looking at where the Magpies went wrong.
In addition we discuss Kevin Nolan's post-match interview after the Bees clash and whether it was justified and indeed yielded rewards in the following game, or whether he just lost his cool.
All this and more only in episode 41 of the Pride of Nottingham PONcast!
Remember - you can subscribe to our PONcast! You can do so by using iTunes for IOS devices, downloading any of the main podcast apps from the Google Play Store or even listen to the show using the TuneIn Radio app.
As always, let us know your thoughts on this week’s PONcast on the forum or on the Facebook page, and once again, thank you for joining us! YOU PIES!!
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Joe Jones
Notts County boss Kevin Nolan has revealed that he left Jorge Grant on the bench against Carlisle United because he has looked "a bit jaded" over the last few weeks.
The attacking midfielder has impressed for the Magpies for the majority of this season, as well as the second half of last term, but has appeared somewhat off form in recent games.
Grant was thus benched for the 2-1 win over the Cumbrians on Tuesday night although he did come on as a late substitute.
“This is Jorge’s first full season and over the last few weeks he has looked a bit jaded,” Nolan told the Nottingham Post.
“We are trying to protect him a bit and there is nothing else in it. We want to try to keep him as fresh as possible and get him back to being the best Jorge Grant he can possibly be.
“He has played a lot of games and when we have been taking lads in and out, he’s not been the one who has been rotated as much.
“It was probably time to have that sort of rest and the option of having him on the bench.
“And when he does come off the bench, he does have an immediate impact like he did against Chesterfield and Exeter earlier on in the season.
“We want to see the best Jorge Grant going into the final stretch of the season.”
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Joe Jones
What's been happening in League Two over the last week?
Here is Pride of Nottingham's round-up of the biggest League Two news from the last seven days.
- Accrington Stanley marked 50 years since their reform by giving a replica shirt to every Year Three primary school child in the town. The scheme from club owner Andy Holt is expected to continue for the next five years, which will cost around £150,000.
- Coventry City reached an agreement to remain at the Ricoh Arena until May 2019. The Sky Blues had less than one year remaining on their deal with Aviva Premiership rugby side Wasps, who own the ground.
- Former Notts County manager Shaun Derry left Cambridge United by mutual consent, the club making an announcement just minutes after their goalless draw at home to Lincoln City on Friday.
- The League Two games between Morecambe and Chesterfield, and Newport and Forest Green, were called off on Saturday due to waterlogged pitches.
- Grimsby Town parted company with manager Russell Slade following a poor run of results. His last game in charge was Saturday's 3-0 defeat away to Crawley, a result that leaves them 17th after a run of 12 games without a win.
- Wycombe Wanderers rejected a Championship club's approach to speak to boss Gareth Ainsworth. "Gareth is under contract with us and continues to do an outstanding job," said a club statement. "Therefore we are fully focused on continuing the progress we are making with him in charge."
- Luton Town chief executive Gary Sweet said it was "unfathomable" that a decision over a proposed stadium, of up to 23,000 seats, has taken so long. The Hatters submitted a planning application to Luton Borough Council in August 2016.
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Joe Jones
Keith Curle has claimed that Carlisle United “did enough to get something out of the game” despite being beaten 2-1 by Notts County in midweek.
The Magpies, who were desperate to get back on track following defeat to Swansea City in the FA Cup and League Two bottom side Barnet, raced into a two-goal lead by half time through Jon Stead.
Although Jamie Devitt halved the deficit on 75 minutes, the Cumbrians couldn't make the most of the remainder of the game, plus seven minutes of injury time, to beat Notts.
“It’s disappointing. Performance-wise, we did enough to get something out of the game,” Curle told the News & Star.
“With our dominance of the ball in the final third, we had the majority of the play in that area.
“They’ve got two good lads up front [Stead and Shola Ameobi] and they are hard to play against in the way they kill the game.
“But we built up momentum and showed good character to come back from 2-0 down.”
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Joe Jones
Notts County returned to winning ways with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Carlisle United on Tuesday night.
Jon Stead put the Magpies ahead in the 19th minute when he collected a pass from Lewis Alessandra and fired a goalward effort which hit Cumbrians goalkeeper Jack Bonham and looped into the net.
The veteran striker then doubled County's lead in the 35th minute when he reacted quickest during a goalmouth scramble and saw his effort rebound off a player back onto him and then into the goal.
Carlisle went on to make it a nervy finish through a deflected Jamie Devitt strike after the break and an inexplicable seven minutes of injury time, but Notts saw the game out for all three points.
Relive the key moments from the Meadow Lane encounter with the official Notts YouTube highlights, as shared here by PON.
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Joe Jones
Notts County have bounced back from their horror week with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Carlisle United on Tuesday night.
Jon Stead put the Magpies ahead in the 19th minute when he collected a pass from Lewis Alessandra and fired a goalward effort which hit Cumbrians goalkeeper Jack Bonham and looped into the net.
The veteran striker then doubled County's lead in the 35th minute when he reacted quickest during an almighty goalmouth scramble.
Carlisle went on to make it a nervy finish through a deflected Jamie Devitt strike after the break and an inexplicable seven minutes of injury time.
The result keeps Notts fourth in the League Two table and snapping at the heels of the top three while keeping the chasing pack at bay.
How did Notts boss Kevin Nolan, his players, and the Black and White Army react to the result? Here is Pride of Nottingham's post-match reaction compilation.
Kevin Nolan
"That was the performance and response I was looking for. I thought the lads were back to their usual selves.
"I'm not relieved because I always believed in the squad and I trust them. I'm satisfied and glad they have shown what they can do.
"You knew Carlisle would throw everything at us and the way the lads went about it meant they were well-deserving of the victory. I am delighted for each and every one of them.
"We could have finished them off with the chances we created and it would have been an easier night if we were a bit more clinical. Overall they were absolutely brilliant."
Jon Stead
"A few lads have been feeling under the weather but we did what we needed to do, which was to get the three points and get back on track.
"With the demands we put on each other as players, we knew we were miles off it against Barnet and we were very disappointed with the way things went and we had to put things right. It's been a difficult period for us but we ground out a result.
"We got early goals and then saw it out, put bodies on the line and had some last-ditch defending which is everything you want when questions are being asked of you and you have to show a bit of character.
"I feel like we could have killed them off with a third goal and it would have made things a little bit easier but it was a battling performance and three points, which is what we needed.”
The Black and White Army
Dave Woolley: If they play like they played 2nd half last night they won’t get much out of the game. Every clearance, every throw in, every kick from the Collin went straight to their player and created pressure. If Kevin doesn’t sort it and If Duffy can’t see it on the pitch we won’t get back on the winning trail. I was expecting Carlisle to grab an equaliser at any time. What a contrast form a great 1st half.
Thomas Ross: Great to be back on the winners list. Appears that Super Kev’s kick up the arse after Saturday worked. Looking forward to Newport on Saturday #YouPies
Michael Doroszenko: Don't care how many goals we scored as long as it's more than the other buggers. Let's hope that this will get us back on track and bring back some belief that yes the boys can do this coyp
David Burkey: After the pasting they have had from Swansea and some supporters, the disappointment of Saturday, last night was going to be a huge test of character . We got through it so now we move onwards and upwards ..coyp
Jay Dalton: sat back 2 nd half but brilliant defence and collin was impressive the fight back and spirit in the notts team is back the pre match warm up with crosses shown they are capable of scoring and threatening up front it paid off stead again on form coyp Nolan's super notts black white army
Andrew Rayson: Well done tonight Notts, but tonight will count for nothing if you don’t back it up against Newport on Saturday and again against whoever we’ve got after them.
Peter Hastings: First half convincing but we are worst enemies we need to see off teams the league is to tight we can't afford to slip up now
Tim Johnson: Hard work but a decent performance, specially considering there's been a flu bug around the squad.
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ARLukomski
We have some very winnable fixtures coming up against a Newport County side fresh off a cup run and a 5-0 dismantling at the hands of Mansfield Town. We play a Cambridge United side who are in a period of transition after a change in ownership and the resignation of Shaun Derry. We also have a home game against Stevenage to finish off the month, in which Boro have one of the worst away records in the division.
We then face trips to Cheltenham Town and Forest Green, but after that the run-in gets very tricky. We have games against promotion rivals Mansfield, Wycombe Wanderers, Coventry City, Accrington Stanley and Luton Town, plus a difficult game away at Colchester United
As I said, the fixtures coming up have to be won as we have some massive games later on and the points picked up now could prove the difference between automatic promotion and playoffs.
Notts have to beat their promotion rivals and have to pick up their away form, which has only seen five away wins all season. Nine wins from the last fourteen should be enough to see us over the line.
But there are other things to consider. A lot of the other promotion contenders have still got to play each other.
Exeter City play Mansfield this Saturday. Coventry have to play Mansfield and Wycombe this month still.  Then the Sky Blues host Lincoln City at the start of March.
On the same day we face Wycombe (30th March), Accrington play Mansfield in which is sure to be a big day in the race for automatic promotion. Both sides still have to go to Kenilworth Road. Accrington also still have Exeter to face.
Lincoln still have to face Exeter, Mansfield, Wycombe and Accrington. Swindon are still not out of it and have a trip to Exeter soon, along with a final day clash with Accrington at the County Ground.
The big promotion race though, could come down to four teams in around a month’s time. The two points between Mansfield and Swindon might not be big, but it could be big enough for Accrington, Wycombe, us and Mansfield who have looked like they are going to pull away from the rest.
But as of yet, no amounts of teams have threatened to break away. With 9 teams now involved (after Colchester moved level on points with Coventry last night) then it’s fair to say, the League Two promotion race has never been tighter.
You can predict what the League Two table will look like come the end of season here. Leave comments below on who you have finishing where.
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ARLukomski
Notts County have bounced back from their horror week with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Carlisle United on Tuesday night.
Jon Stead put the Magpies ahead in the 19th minute when he collected a pass from Lewis Alessandra and fired a goalward effort which hit Cumbrians goalkeeper Jack Bonham and looped into the net.
The veteran striker then doubled County's lead in the 35th minute when he reacted quickest during an almighty goalmouth scramble.
Carlisle went on to make it a nervy finish through a deflected Jamie Devitt strike after the break and an inexplicable seven minutes of injury time.
The result keeps Notts fourth in the League Two table and snapping at the heels of the top three while keeping the chasing pack at bay.
Notts vlogger and Pride of Nottingham contributor ARLukomski discussed the fixture ahead of kickoff, gave his thoughts as the game went on, and talked about the performance and result after the final whistle.
Follow ARLukomski on his YouTube channel by clicking here.
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has provided a positive update on Michael O'Connor, saying the Notts County captain is "well on the road to recovery".
The Northern Irish midfielder and club captain has been out of action since last April when he suffered a knee injury in the defeat to Portsmouth which required surgery to repair ligament damage.
A long layoff has ensued but Nolan is hopeful Occy will be available to join in full training in a fortnight's time, albeit in strictly non-contact sessions.
“It’s going fantastically well,” Nolan told the Nottingham Post. “He spent four or five days at St George’s Park last week just to give him a new environment.
“It’s always nice to have somebody on the outside see how good it is going and he has come back with a program and hopefully in the next couple of weeks he will be joining in.
“It will be on a non-contact basis but he will be involved in possession sessions because he’s not ready for tackling yet.
“But he is well on the road to recovery and touch wood it will continue. I am very hopeful he will play again this season and I do think you will see Michael O’Connor in a shirt.
“He is very confident and doing very well, but it’s just little steps. We don’t want to rush him and do anything daft because we are talking about a lad’s career here. His welfare is most important first and foremost.”
Nolan also spoke about Shaun Brisley being the latest player to catch the virus sweeping through the Notts camp.
The defender sat out Tuesday's 2-1 win over Carlisle United, but Nolan praised Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Ben Hall for his "fantastic" debut in Brisley's place.
"We got a call yesterday saying Shaun had come down with the flu so he is off until Thursday and then we will see how he is," the gaffer told the Notts site.
"But I thought Ben (Hall, Brighton loanee) was absolutely magnificent and had a fantastic debut. That is why we brought him in and he's taken his opportunity with both hands and I'm delighted for him.
"It's going to be tough for Shaun to get back into the team."
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