Magpies soaring on Derry’s best day as a boss
NOTTS County boss Shaun Derry claims his side delivered the best display of his reign so far as they sealed an impressive win over Coventry.
The Magpies were fast out of the blocks at Meadow Lane and took the lead through Hayden Mullins’ bullet header after 13 minutes.
A wonderful 25-yard strike from debutant James Spencer then put them further ahead while an Alan Sheehan penalty wrapped up all three points.
The result lifted the Mapgies out of the bottom four and Derry said it was the best performance he has seen from his players since he was appointed manager last November.
“I thought we were very clinical and the experienced lads showed just why they will be so crucial for us from now until the end of the season,” he said.
“And for me, the performance was the best I've seen since I've been here.
“We've had some fantastic results and some great wins, but if you look at the whole performance that was a proper, proper, team performance.
“It was the best I've seen defensively, the best I've seen from the midfield and up front too.
“We've lost to three teams who were in the top seven and people forget it could have been complete different away at Peterborough.
“The players really wanted to show the fans what they were made of and they did.”
Coventry boss Steven Pressley was less than happy with his own side’s performance in which they rarely threatened Notts keeper Bartosz Bialkowski.
It was a huge setback for the Sky Blues who have hopes of making a late push for the League One play-offs.
Pressley, who was a fierce competitor as a player at Hearts, left his players in no doubt what he thought of their effort.
“It’s not often I say this about my own team, but I thought Notts County were hungrier than us,” he said.
“It’s a part of the game you hear me repeatedly talking about and especially the intensity of our work.
“The first half wasn’t good enough and while the second was slightly better, it still wasn’t at the level I expect. Another aspect of it was that we probably lacked a focal point.
“While Nathan (Delfouneso) tried to stretch the game, when the ball came into the front area of the pitch, the ball never stuck. “We couldn’t get any level of momentum because the ball kept coming back towards us. We needed to link to play against the strength of their centrebacks and we never got it.”