When we left you at the end of March, I believe the run of consecutive Notts defeats stood at four. Just the five more to get through, then, beginning with the 2-0 Meadow Lane reverse to Oldham Athletic that saw the end of Paul Ince's reign as Notts manager. A truly tepid game that saw it's best moment when Oldham full back Cedric Evina's clearance knocked the 'N' off the Jimmy Sirrel stand, two late Latics goals condemned Notts to another defeat and Paul Ince to a swift return to the Job Centre.
Carl Heggs, a man whose previous managerial experience was in charge of the mighty King's Lynn Town, took the reigns on a temporary basis but failed to stem the tide, with Rochdale becoming the latest beneficiaries of Notts' generosity, 2-1 winners at Meadow Lane after two early goals from Dawson and Atkinson. A truly disastrous afternoon in Dagenham proved to be Heggs' final attempt, where three first half goals and a Graeme Lee sending off pretty much sewed things up nicely for John Still's fellow strugglers. Njogu Demba-Nyren did score his solitary Notts goal late on though, yay!
With this, it was the turn of Barnet manager Martin Allen to take the reigns with a sombre interview and a trip to Yeovil Town, where an improved performance couldn't turn the tide as Notts were beaten 2-1 at Huish Park. The club record run of nine consecutive defeats was finally sealed at Meadow Lane against Bournemouth who eventually ran out 2-0 winners over the now utterly horrific Magpies. Then there was a Tuesday night at Prenton Park, a re-arranged game against Tranmere Rovers where things finally changed. A Craig Westcarr penalty proved to be enough for a scrappy 1-0 win that finally reversed the run of defeats and gave us hope again.
After a trip to Swindon Town saw Notts come from a goal behind to beat the Robins 2-1 and effectively condemn them to relegation, things finally seemed to be on the up. Late goals from the returning Alan Judge and Lee Hughes sealed the win, which was to be Notts' final victory of the season as the month was rounded off with a draw at home to Brentford and defeat at Milton Keynes, setting things up nicely for a final day show down against champions Brighton.