Skipper Cameron says Notts will learn from tough lessons
DEFENDER IS KEEN TO CUT OUT MISTAKES NEXT SEASON
NOTTS County captain Kyle Cameron says it has been a “steep learning curve” in League Two this season.
It has been a campaign of ups and downs for the Magpies as they adjusted to life back in the EFL, with a mid-season managerial change one of a few hurdles the club had to get over.
The season started with plenty of hope and expectation but had an anti-climactic end in what became a year to consolidate and learn lessons.
“We had targets at the start of the season to push for another promotion and we had the players in our squad to achieve that,” said Cameron.
“If you compared our teamsheet to most other clubs in the league you’d say we were stronger than most on paper. But maybe we lacked the experience or general nous to get over the line.
“You look at games across the season where we should’ve been able to get the job done if we’d done little things a bit better.
“As a defender, it’s not great being part of a team that is conceding a lot of goals but the way we’ve played for most of the season has been very expansive and open.
“We’ve been caught out a few times in possession and by the athleticism or skill level of some of the players in League Two compared to the National League.
“I think this season has been a steep learning curve for everyone at the club, top to bottom, so we hope we can be up near the top next season if we learn from our mistakes and apply ourselves properly.
“I don’t think we’re miles away from where we need to be to be successful – it’s the small margins. When you make as many individual errors as we have then you’re going to be punished, so we need to cut them out.”
Cameron and the defensive line as a whole came in for criticism for their performances across the season, with Notts conceding more goals than any other League Two club.
Quite a few of the defenders have been moved on already, as they were out of contract, but Magpies head coach Stuart Maynard still believes some of the criticism has been unwarranted.
Maynard said: “I think it is easy to forget about the previous season when (Kyle Cameron) was captain of a team that won promotion and if you look on the whole, as a team, we’ve conceded far too many goals than we would’ve liked but it’s not the responsibility of one person to put it right.
“I think the defence had come in for a lot of criticism even before I came, which I don’t think was entirely fair because when you defend, you do it as a collective starting from the front.
“I think it’s easy to forget what some players have done for the club in recent years.”