Destined for the door

Last updated : 23 December 2008 By Dane Vincent

With the site's latest census looking at where the club needs to strengthen in January, Notts County Mad has decided to take a peek at which players could be heading for the Meadow Lane gates as a result.

For new players to join, some of the current squad will have to make way, due to Ian McParland's budget edging nearer to its limit.

Several within the ranks have been frozen out over the course of the campaign and some could well depart in January.

Neil Mackenzie - The former Scunthorpe United play-maker looks destined to leave the club, having been shipped out on loan twice already without making a league start for the Magpies this season.

Temporarily he is plying his trade at Port Vale, where he has made three appearances since joining them at the end of November.

Although the move is initially for a month, Mackenzie has stated his desire to extend his stay at Vale Park.

"It's been really frustrating, probably one of the most frustrating spells of my career [at Notts County]. But to be honest, I'm just glad I'm away from it and have a chance to kick on," he said to the Staffordshire Sentinel.

"I'm not coming here as a short-term measure. I've got the bit between my teeth and I'm desperate to take the chance."

The Valiants' boss, Dean Glover has not ruled out making the midfielder's move a permanent one.

Paul Mayo - Stephen Hunt's return and Jamie Clapham's arrival may just spell the end of the long-throwing full-back's career in the black and white stripes.

Now that both are fit, Mayo will expect to drop even further down the pecking order after admitting that he saw himself as a backup player earlier in the season.

Speaking to the Nottingham Evening Post, he declared: "I knew at the start of the season the manager was looking for a left-back and we have signed Jamie [Clapham], who is probably one of the best in the league.

"I always knew it was going to be difficult for me to stay in the team when he came to the club but I have just got on with things."

It is highly possible that he could be sent out on loan to maintain match sharpness with the club not having a reserve team.

Jay Smith - A wonder strike at Kettering and a handful of shining performances have not been enough to see him cement a regular spot in the centre of midfield.

He is debatably Notts' best all-round midfielder but only appears to get a pick when the squad is down to its bare bones.

Despite calls from the stands for him to start, McParland - for unknown reasons - does not appear to rate the tenacious tackler as highly as the likes of Gavin Strachan, Adam Nowland and Richard Butcher.

If teams enquire about Smith, it is possible that he could be released to allow fresh faces to arrive.

Ben Fairclough - Just one substitute appearance in the league signals that the former Nottingham Forest trainee could leave next month when his contract runs out.

Keeping the bench warm for most of the season, the nippy striker has yet to feature prominently, with Spencer Weir-Daley proving the more popular choice both on the wing and up top.

With the desperate need for a regular goal-scorer, Fairclough's wages may be used to supplement the arrival of such a figure.