It feels like we've got ourselves trapped in a win-one lose-one run right now, if that continues until the end of the season it would give us 80 points. Is that enough? I think we'd fall just agonisingly short.

Wouldn't that be 82pts @menzinho ? Even then, maybe not enough....

Personally, I'm not interested in projecting totals. I just want us to perform, be brave and give it our all.

Yesterday, considering all the injuries, I thought we fought hard and we're unlucky not to get something. The individual lapse let everybody down.

Maynard lost game 41 away too and followed up by losing game 42 at home. Monday is a 'must-win'. Newport have to be dispatched. The players have to perform and MP has to make sure that they do

Edited April 4Apr 4 by theAnticlough

You're right @theAnticlough , for some reason I thought we had 71 points, so that's a slight bonus for me waking up and seeing we've actually got 73! 😆

Just the 5 to go now... I don't think any of the sides in the top 7 have a particularly easy run-in, including us. Newport will be desperate to get something, Barnet have beaten both Cambridge and MK recently and Colchester, whilst they might not have much to play for a bit like Salford have been a bogey side for us. I can see it coming down to the last day against Bristol.

I would probably take 82 points if you offered it to me right now, whether that would be enough for an automatic spot, who knows?

1 hour ago, menzinho said:

You're right @theAnticlough , for some reason I thought we had 71 points, so that's a slight bonus for me waking up and seeing we've actually got 73! 😆

Just the 5 to go now... I don't think any of the sides in the top 7 have a particularly easy run-in, including us.

That's true.

I actually went thru the game-by-game projections with my youngest this morning. I actually have us being promoted!

Then I did it again and put us down to lose at Cambridge and draw at Colchester and we miss out to MK Dons on goal difference at 83pts.That sounds like Notts, doesn't it?!

Then as 4th place team I have us in a 2-leg play-off v Salford. If it's not them it's Oldham or Chesterfield who both have tasty run-ins.

We better get some players back and be ready for 2-legs v either Salford, Chesterfield or Oldham 'cos that's what it's heading for as far as I can see.

Oh and the play-off cut-off mark could be an unbelievable 80pts this season I think

Edited April 4Apr 4 by theAnticlough

Teams like Oldham, Crewe, Grimsby Walsall & Barnet all have hopes of getting that 7th play off place. All will be highly motivated & they have games against teams in the top six.

All those teams will have something to say where the current top six will finish. Notts need to take care of their own business. They need to forget the rest & concentrate on one match at a time starting against Newport on Monday.

I'm going to stop posting in this thread for fear of angering the football gods. One thing is (almost certain) - it's an absolute bunfight now and will go down to the last minutes of the last game of the season.

Swindon losing 3-0 and down to ten men away to Colchester, that's helping us.

Edited April 10Apr 10 by Sheffield Pie

14 hours ago, Sheffield Pie said:

Swindon losing 3-0 and down to ten men away to Colchester, that's helping us.

Finished 3-0 and Holloway sent off. Disaster for them.

Bromley will now be promoted if they win today. Not sure I want that just yet as they might then take their foot off the gas, and we probably want them to beat Cambridge. Maybe a draw is best for us.

I can't see Bromley getting promoted at MK

Swindon can get back in it with a win at home to Accrington next, especially with the teams above playing each other. We can't write them off just yet.

We are still in with a shout of promotion either by the automatics or playoffs. There are some very tough games to come for those teams above & below us, as well as ourselves.

Notts need to do the business themselves over their last three matches, & see what happens elsewhere. I think there will be lots of twists and turns to come before the end of the season.

If this season has taught us anything so far, it's that things can change very quickly. Yesterday was a bad day and we're now once again hoping that others will slip up, but Cambridge now have a very tough trip to a Bromley side that needs a win to seal promotion. We could quite easily find ourselves in the top three again next weekend.

All we can do is move on from yesterday, win our remaining games and hope for the best.

Err I refer the right honourable gentleman to his previous post. I do hope you haven't angered the said gods @StarkMallard.

On 05/04/2026 at 15:05, StarkMallard said:

I'm going to stop posting in this thread for fear of angering the football gods.

We've still got a narrow path to automatic promotion and it starts tonight. We really need:

Bromley to seal promotion by beating Cambridge (8pm)

We beat Barnet (Sat)

Cambridge fail to beat Grimsby (Tues)

If that happens it's game on. Doesn't sound too far fetched?

Edited April 16Apr 16 by Sheffield Pie

It doesn't, and you're right@Sheffield Pie but I still can't get there - I'm wanting the draw

With the goal difference swing, we need all the help we can get right now. So for one night only I'm team Bromley. 0-0 with 15 left to play as I type...

Final score .

Bromley 0 Cambridge 0.

Bromley have still not secured promotion. Notts can still overtake them if results go in Notts favour.

The pressure is back on Cambridge. They do have an awkward last three games & Bromley's last two are not a given

Latest League table.

With three games left this season, it feels likely that MK Dons will secure automatic safety. The team that ends up joining them, along with Bromley, looks set to be either Notts or Cambridge United. We have dropped a lot of important points, especially in matches where we should have done better, and it has left us in the usual position where the players now need to fight for every inch to rescue what once looked very achievable. Promotion to League One had seemed within reach, but we have made it harder for ourselves.

If some of the January signings had arrived earlier, which I know was probably not possible, I do think the squad would have been stronger. The Cambridge United match felt like watching Notts at the start of the season. Nothing really clicked for long spells, but there were small signs that something better could come together.

We’ve been inconsistent & largely unpredictable all season. Thus, we may well string 3 wins together - as we have on a few occasions already. We have a habit of pulling rabbits out of hats.

I remain cautiously optimistic, but anything other than a win tomorrow, pretty much, extinguishes any prospect of automatic promotion. 7 points might still be enough, 6 won’t in my view.

The concern will be L1, should we get there. Having watched Luton v Stockport last weekend, (as well as the more “rural” approach of Mansfailed), I’d say we are miles off either of the standard required. They all movethe ball forwards quickly and accurately. The pace of the game, physicality of the defenders and the energy & movement in midfield is a cut above anything in L2, by some distance tbh. Interesting to note that my “Stags”mates rate Abbott very highly in the energy, mobility and skill departments.

You know we tend to lose hope for a burst of good results to change our mind, then a run of form in the opposite direction tends squash all hopes. I think if Cambridge United win on Tuesday, then automatics go out the window. I can't see a means to get back into that picture with two games, we are relying too heavily on other results and our own for that to be realistic.

The issue is, if Grimsby Town win then it could put further pressure on us to even reach the playoffs and in our current form even that is questionable.

As fans, we should ignore the bad results and support the team for the next two games. Then try to enjoy reaching the playoffs, but I think our form needs to improve in these remaining games, as does the level of performance. Defend like we are right now, it's going to be quite an uphill challenge. Even if Cambridge and Grimsby draw, I think Salford are more likely to push for 3rd than we are.

Notts lacks the fight, will-power, team focus and defensively we are not good enough to cope when pressed.

At least for the automatic spaces, but I do acknowledge it's a funny old game and you can't say otherwise until it's mathmatically impossible. I just base my thoughts on what I see, how things are unfolding and what seems most likely.

I think that I am still holding out with hope that we can steal that third auto promotion spot, rather than another 3 games to secure promotion via the play offs, as three games on current consistency feels like quite a lot.

Well after the weekend result for us, if Cambridge win their game in hand tonight against Grimsby I'd say the dream of automatic is over. I'd still back Cambridge to finish 3rd, I think GD is always a good way at looking at how good a team is. There's is +31 and they've only conceded 31 goals up until now, the likeliness of them losing their last 3 matches is very slim.

If Notts can beat Colchester, and the results are lucky to go our way. It could go to the wire like I had originally thought. However, I do think we will end up in the playoffs. I do worry, that a defeat will see us slip further down and make the final game of the season a lot more nervous.

At one point it looked like it wasn't going to end like this, but the league has become very tight and many are fighting for the playoffs.

Salford for example have really fought to climb up, as they did look unlikely to reach the playoffs earlier in the season. Now look at them, we need that fight and drive to end this well.

With one match to go it is still possible. The pressure will be on Cambridge and Salford. Both of those teams have tricky games to finish with.

Notts have a very hard game too, against the form team of the league, but with our best players returning, we have a good chance of winning our last match of the regular season.