Or, to phrase it in another way, he has masterminded his first success whilst in solitary charge of the Football Club.
Though only in the Manager's Chair for two and a half months, Thompson - largely through necessity - has revolutionised the Magpies with 14 new signings.
But, despite huge promise, Thompson (below left) had yet seen his all-new side come out of a game victorious.
Against Wycombe - a side who are widely-tipped to be among the front-runners in League Two this season - this new-look Notts side were able to get the monkey off their backs in impressive fashion.
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After a succession of aimless, long balls the goal - the first effort of note from either side - came after the first bit of decent football played by Thompson's men.
The ever-alert David Pipe was the orchestrator. He collected a fortunate deflection after midfield workhorse Matt Somner had blocked an attempted clearence in the Wycombe left channel, before slotting a superb ball through to Mendes who finished, first-time, with aplomb.
The goal was the first to come from one of Notts' four new strikers this season.
Though it proved to be the game's only goal, Mendes' effort wasn't to be the game's defining moment.
That came courtesy of match official Darren Deadman, who would ultimately turn out to be the villain of the piece for both clubs.
Deadman, correctly, sent-off Wycombe's Anthony Grant as early as the 39th minute for two bookings awarded within quick succession. In truth, there was little argument over either. The 19-year-old first pulled-back a rampaging Pipe, before showing his inexperience with a rash challenge from behind on Andy Parkinson.
Deadman, though, was to win himself some favour - that he would eventually lose - with the Notts bench as he, incorrectly, passed-up the chance to even things up before half-time.
Somner had already been booked for a crude late sliding challenge on former Magpie Stefan Oakes, before denying Adam Bloomfield the chance of a counter-attack on half-way just minutes after Grant's dismissal.
The decision to send off the second defensive midfielder of the afternoon seemed a certainty, but Deadman somehow let Somner off without so much as a stern talking to, much to the dismay of the travelling support.
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Presumably realising the error of his ways, Deadman produced a dreadfully one-sided second half display that enraged the previously-subdued home crowd.
Dan Martin, plus substitutes Tcham N'Toya and Ian Ross all followed Somner into the referee's notebook, as he seeked to rectify his earlier mistake. Only the caution of the enthusiastic Martin - featuring in midfield for the first-time this season - could be justified.
The dismissal of Grant was to not only change the away team's approach, but also have a negative effect on the performances of Oakes and Chris Palmer, two players keen to make an impact against their former employers.
Playing in opposition to Notts for the first time, Palmer had started well against the club where he spent the first two years of his senior professional career.
The loss of Chelsea loanee Grant though, would disrupt his influence - which had looked set to have a key impact on the final result. Oakes, meanwhile, was forced to neglect his creative duties in a bid to cover for his team-mate's absence.
While both men - Palmer, in particular - would show battling qualities not always in evidence during their time at Meadow Lane, their afternoon's would ultimately end in failure. Both substituted, they would be jeered off the field by that unforgiving lot in the Jimmy Sirrel Stand.
Inevitably, gaps would appear in the second half as Notts' numerical advantage told.
The decision to once again take off the ineffective Lawrie Dudfield for Tcham N'Toya proved a productive one, N'Toya's added pace and energy immediately creating a chance for Mendes, which was somehow saved by the somewhat erratic Ricardo Jorge Cecília Batista.
Parkinson would also waste a decent second half chance after more excellent work from the indefatigable Pipe, while Mendes was to see another shot saved after more link-up play with N'Toya.
It was testament to the performance of the Notts back four - which, for the first time featured right full-back Dan Gleeson, another summer acquisition by Thompson - that Kevin Pilkington remained relatively untroubled at the other end.
With Tommy Mooney often an isolated figure in attack, the arrival of another striker, Jermaine Easter, for the majority of the second period failed to pay dividends.
It is a sign of the quality of the brand new squad that they were able to keep such a potent attack quiet with such relative ease.
His new squad may still have work to do, but, with a win under their belts and no competitive defeats from three, it is a start that few expected upon Thompson's unpopular arrival in May.
For Match Ratings and reaction, stay tuned to NCM tomorrow afternoon.