Challinor praises his flexible squad
COUNTY boss Dave Challinor hailed a happy festive season for his league leaders, as The Hatters battled to a hard-fought 2-1 win over “incredible” Notts County at Edgeley Park on Friday evening.
Despite a dominant performance by way of possession for the visitors, County took all three points via goals either side of the break from Kyle Wootton and Paddy Madden, with huge credit from Challinor to a defensive rearguard action from his players to snuff out a lively Notts side.
Despite David McGoldrick’s stoppage-time stunner, the hosts held on to move six points clear at the top of the League Two tree and ensure a first Christmas Day top of a league table since 1966.
“They were the best team we’ll face this season,” said Challinor.
“The way they rotate and move is really nice to watch, and it’s what we aspire to.
“We have a real efficiency about us but with our strongest side all fit and available, I think it would have been an insanely high quality game of football from both sides.
“But our lot deserve real credit. We changed our game plan at half-time and made it so that Notts would have to be really, really good to get through us.
“As the second half went on and they became more frustrated, we got the opportunities on the break and ultimately we win the game with the second goal.”
Former Notts forward Kyle Wootton haunted his old club with a sixth minute opener at a sold out Edgeley Park, as the County marksman swept home Kyle Knoyle’s training ground corner routine at the Cheadle End.
That opening goal proved crucial to how the game unfolded, according to former Fylde chief Challinor.
He said: “It was always going to be difficult to tweak things with the personnel we already had out on the pitch.
“Because of the injury situation, we go with, in the main, our strongest possible side for that situation so you go with what’s out there.
“It became a little bit ‘get through to half-time with square pegs in round holes’, and then reassess at half-time and make the changes we did.
“We got ourselves in front early on, which is massive as you can react to how the game’s going whilst being in the lead, and look to frustrate the opposition as we did.”
A very complimentary Notts manager Luke Williams hailed The Hatters, meanwhile, as “out of this world”.
The popular former Swindon boss, linked heavily this week with a return to former club Swansea City, added that The Hatters should be “handed the league title now” with the rest of the promotion hopefuls left to battle it out for the remaining promotion spots in League Two.
“I wish they would!”, remarked Challinor.
“It’s really nice to hear from an excellent side. Notts will go away from our place maybe disappointed with the result, but aware that that performance from them, replicated over the rest of the season, will get them where they want to be come the end of the season.
“We take absolutely nothing for granted from our end, and we know it’s a long old campaign with twists and turns every week.”
With the January transfer window opening on the 1st of the month, and County in the midst of a severe injury crisis at Edgeley Park, Challinor is hopeful of adding a flurry of new faces to his side’s ranks.
“I’d think we’d be looking at at least four bodies in,” explained Challinor.
“With who we have out at the minute, it was always going to be about getting through to New Year and seeing what we can do to strengthen.
“We have some really exhausted bodies already in the dressing room who are having to go again week after week because we just don’t have the players at the minute.
“But we are in a really good place.
“This football club has a really bright future, it is as big a club as many in League One, and hopefully 2024 is the year that we can find ourselves back at that level.”