Edwards ready for the battle

Notts travel to Barnet having won just once in their last 10 matches. It is a similar record to their opponents, whose form of two victory's in their last 14 games has left them just one point clear of the League Two relegation zone.

While The Magpies will be keen to complete their second double of a stop-start campaign, Edwards has admitted that he and his team-mates will have to be prepared for the scrap against a team fighting for their lives.

"We need to go down there, get stuck in and hopefully we can come away with a good result for everyone," he told the official website.

"They are down at the bottom and we expect nothing less than a battle."

Gudjon Thordarson's team are keen to finish the season on a high, with four points needed from the remaining six games to better last season's finishing tally of 52.

Thordarson's men have under-performed in the past three matches, after an excellent 2-1 win at Bristol Rovers led for revived talk of a playoff push.

While talk of promotion is now on the back-burner, the Magpies will be keen to improve on their current 15th placed standing before the end of the campaign.

"It was frustrating to only get a draw," said Edwards on last weekend's match with Leyton Orient.

"But we remained unbeaten and that is now a target - to go until the end of the season without a defeat."

Edwards has recently enjoyed an excellent spell of form since the departure of Kelvin Wilson allowed him to revert back to his more orthodox position at the heart of the defence.

But he - like the entire playing squad with the exception of Kevin Pilkington - is out of contract in the summer.

But while key players such as Edwards, David Pipe and Julien Baudet hold the position of power in ongoing contract talks, a number of fringe players did their chances of earning a new deal no harm with a 2-1 success over a strong Crewe Alexandra second-string.

Midfielder Stacy Long was particularly impressive in the midweek game, that was refereed by popular stalwart Ian Richardson.

Lewis McMahon, Brian O'Callaghan and Dan Martin also starred in a game that also featured three trialists, but Long admitted he hoped his display - that was capped by scoring the winning goal - could put him back in first-team contention.

"Everybody wants to play every game so when the reserve games come round you have got to try to perform and do the best you can and keep causing problems for the manager," the youngster told the Nottingham Evening Post.

"Players have not signed contracts and that is what you are playing for."