Manager Billy Dearden laid the gauntlet down for his players as he told them to prove that they are good enough to survive in Division Two. His test to his players comes after Tuesday’s 3-1 humbling by Rushden & Diamonds as Dearden admits his frustration at the continuous lack by the resources available at his disposal.
But Billy says if the players believe they are good enough to avoid the drop, it is time to start showing they really are.
In an interview with
"And when they play to the best of their ability, they probably are.
"But when they are not producing their best, you begin to question it.
"We know we could do with one or two more bodies.
"In all my time at the club I have been allowed to sign four players - and they are on month-to-month contracts.”
"We have had to cope with what we have got and that will continue to be the situation for a while yet”
"But given that, it is the players' responsibility to turn things round."
Dearden has also broached the fact that his small, and still diminishing [due to injuries], squad offers little cover for injuries, suspensions - and players losing form.
"They know that they can play badly and still have a good chance of staying in the side," he said.
"You want them to be on edge, fearing that their place in the side is at stake.”
"At the moment we don't have that."
The Notts manager must surely be in favour of a major reshuffle ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Tranmere Rovers – however, with such a small squad the team effectively picks itself.
"There will be changes to the side tomorrow but that largely depends on how the injured lads come on," Dearden added.
"It was a blow to lose both our full-backs from the
"Bolly got a knock just above his knee, against Rushden, while Baldry is still having treatment on the ankle problem he has had since before Tuesday's match.”
"It is okay saying that you can put the kids in, but I think in difficult circumstances like this you have to rely on your experienced players.”
"It is going to be down to them to do it, because there isn't anyone else."
Dearden had the players in for an extra training session on Wednesday.
"We just went through where things went wrong and looked at how we could prevent it happening again."
Team news to follow shortly…