Jodi Jones said after the Newport game that Tom Iorpenda was playing in his usual spot and they weren’t speaking to each other. I’ve seen this happen quite a bit with the younger players coming into the team. I thought Tyrese Hall struggled with his positioning against Bromley. He looked unsure of where to be, and not one person spoke to him during the match.

So it’s not just about the shape or formation. There’s a real issue with communication on the pitch, and the young lads aren’t getting the support or guidance they need from the others.

are we playing to our strengths yet? martin paterson spoke about how he wanted the players to do this, and not only do we look out of shape at times. we still dont seem to have key players fit enough to play for 90 minutes. 5 games in we are seeing improvements, but most seem slow and counter productive with how we fail to defend. we struggle with headers when the defence dont have time to prepare and we dont defend as a team like we have previously done. the pressing to win the ball back or to get the secord or third ball back is missing.

In earlier games, I felt our centre backs were pushing forward too much, while the midfield and attack seemed to sit back too often. It left us a bit out of balance. We’ve looked better against Shrewsbury and Bromley, with signs of improvement. But defending only works well when the whole team is organised and ready for it.

Having seen every game so far, bar the home win against Shrewsbury Town and the Wigan Athletic cup game.

I think it's more communication that is hindering us, along with a lack of movement. When we are doing well, it's a lot more natural, but out of possession, it seems almost forced to make any effort. We have gone from being a team that can quickly intercept the ball and push on. To a team that loses it quite easily, it is a lot more indecisive as to whether we are going to try to win the ball back quickly, and those 2nd and 3rd balls are being chased like we would have under Luke Williams.

A fair case to the point of it being shape-related is a fair one, as we are very relaxed at times when it comes to keeping it.

When Kelle Roos has the ball either in his hands or at his feet, who often wants the ball? When we have conceded or almost conceded, who is reacting in the way that makes you think they are fired up and don't want to lose or draw?

There has always been an element to Notts being slow; however, previously in games where we have played well, we quite rightly deserve the 3 points. We have come back from setbacks and pushed. That winning mentality, along with the desire to make space and to win the ball back quickly, is currently missing.