I’M SAFE AND THE BOSS IS A STAR!
WHEN Kevin Nolan walked through the door at Meadow Lane in January, midfielder Robert Milsom had an initial thought – he might nick my spot!
But player-manager Nolan, 34, not only instantly allayed those fears, he also inspired the team to a change in fortunes, convincing Milsom they would get along fine.
At first glance, the former Newcastle and Bolton midfielder’s opening game in charge – a 0-0 draw with Mansfield Town – looks inconsequential and rather unspectacular.
But relief was palpable, with Notts on a run of ten successive League Two defeats that had dropped them into the relegation zone. Quite a fall from grace when you consider they were in the top six on October 31.
Worried
Wins over Crawley and Cheltenham and a draw against Exeter in midweek – in which the Magpies struck twice in second-half stoppage time to rescue a point – have lightened the mood.
And Milsom has full faith in the former Leyton Orient boss to keep them afloat.
“I was a bit worried he might take my place when he first came in!” said the 30-year-old.
“But the gaffer has been brilliant. He’s so positive and so is his assistant Thommo (Richard Thomas).
“They knew the run we were on, but they’ve been more interested in what they can control going forwards and we’re getting results. Training has been brilliant. It’s intense and really gets the boys going. Around the place, he’s just one of us. He trains with us because there’s potential for him to still play.
“He’s a very approachable guy and clearly a good manager from what we’ve seen. You can speak to him openly, but you’ll know he’ll tell you off if he’s not happy. He has our respect. Our away form has not been good enough and he’s let us know about it.”
Before the weekend, six points separated the bottom six clubs and you’d be hard pressed to pick the two that will drop out of the EFL.
Milsom is keen, therefore, to avoid looking at his rivals’ results, and suggests his teammates do the same.
“It’s very tight at the bottom, so if you can get a couple of wins together then you can really climb up the table,” added the ex-Rotherham and Fulham midfielder. “But we can’t spend too much time worrying about everyone else.
“Orient got a great win on Tuesday (3-2 at Plymouth), but we got a good result, too, so concentrating on that is most important.
“The belief and the confidence are there. We still need to do better, though, particularly on the road.”