A little patience could go a long way

Last updated : 17 December 2008 By Dane Vincent

Fed up: Fans want to experience the good times again.
There aren't many hastier than Notts County Football Club when it comes to searching for the next leader to hail as the new Jimmy Sirrel.

Since the departure of Neil Warnock in January 1993, nobody has remained at the helm for longer than two years.

Over the most recent 10 seasons, Notts have had as many different bosses, with only Sam Allardyce achieving something of note before fleeing to Bolton.

The latest appointment, Ian McParland has been in the hot-seat since October 2007, and has revamped the squad with the hope of turning around the team's fortunes.

With little improvement evident, hounding supporters - perhaps spurred by endless servings of drivel over the past decade - are once again starting to plump for another name to be scrawled onto the lengthy list of failures.

Grumbles of concern are beginning to grow into angry outbursts, shown by the post-match scenes of the Chester City loss, and as a result, the pressure is beginning to mount upon John Armstrong-Holmes' shoulders to take action.

Too hurried perhaps? Many would disagree, but it is plain to see that chopping and changing managers has proven to be painfully unproductive.

It's a results profession, nonetheless, and McParland has not been providing the goods, just like Steve Thompson before him.

His predecessor was removed after an unsatisfactory opening to the last campaign in which two wins, five draws and six losses were collected.

In the most recent 13 games, the Magpies have notched up three wins, three draws and seven losses, attaining just one more point than the form that led to Thompson's axing.

This term was all about progression, but despite early glimpses of promise, it

Time to go?: Maybe not just yet.
has transcended into yet another struggle at the wrong end of the table, leaving Notts one point worse off than the same stage last time around.

It must be taken into consideration that the 10 matches that followed the 20th game last season, resulted in County picking up just one victory.

Surely this can be bettered in the festive fixtures alone, with Lincoln City, Grimsby Town, Rotherham United and Aldershot Town all seemingly beatable opponents, making improvement inevitable - we hope.

Years of hurt have caused patience to wear thin though, and it would seem that a quick fix would be the only way to silence the vocal ousters.

More often than not it takes a lengthy spell to build an accomplished outfit and although it may not feel like it, strides forward - albeit small - are being taken.

With the reserve and youth teams making a comeback, the club is only going to grow stronger and with some stability introduced, it may generate an attractive vibe.

If there are no developments over the next cluster of ties, however, crucial decisions will have to be made.

For now, the bigger picture needs to be looked at, so that it can be realised that things are not as worrying as they may seem.