It is a muggy late-July morning, the threat of a heavy shower hanging thick in the air. On Meadow Lane – and outside Meadow Lane – a queue has formed along one wall.
The club shop, for that is what they are waiting for, does not open for another 45 minutes but a dozen quickly doubles in number. Notts County’s new home shirt is being released at 10am. You better believe that there is an intense pride at being one of the first to own it.
There is something magical about visiting a football ground in the summer. It shouldn’t feel any different: the same cars and delivery drivers flick in and out of the car park, the same mowers continue to hum over the impossibly green pitch.
But there is a unique buzz, as if you are spying on something illicit or treading where you shouldn’t be. It’s like reverse skiving, secretly stepping into a place of work.
If those waiting impatiently for the latest black-and-white stripes are the keenest of us all, it is a forgivable fervour. This is the dawn of a new age for a historic institution. A large sign stands on the wall of the Derek Pavis Stand: “The oldest professional club in the world”.
They used to say “oldest league club” about Notts County, but then came the fall. That’s something else that can come back into fashion.
A potted history of the Notts County curses: the administration, the fake takeover, the record run of defeats, the previous owner accidentally tweeting a picture of his phallus, the fall into non-league, the repeated play-off heartbreak. And then… salvation. New owners, a manager in Luke Williams whose football caught the eye, a brilliant goalscorer plucked from the sixth tier and Wembley glory, this time.
Notts are preparing for their return to the Football League and they intend to make up for lost time.
The pressure never stops; never will. Williams was appointed knowing that promotion was the only goal, and he achieved that in his first season: 117 goals scored, three of 48 matches lost. He stresses that the club’s Danish owners were patient and understanding, but they are also ambitious.
A red line is drawn through the first target and another written below in pen. Focus simply switches. Preseason is relentless for every manager, but the demands following promotion are unique.
Notts County proactively worked on recruitment plans based on different scenarios, but the decreasing gap between National League and League Two could complicate things.
Ruben Rodrigues chose to leave for Oxford United, which was a blow. David McGoldrick has arrived from Derby County and is a coup at this level. You win some, you lose some.
“If you had pots of money that you could spend freely, you might buy the best player in every position, but that is not the reality,” Williams says.
“You are then in a marketplace where you are looking at players who you think are potentially good enough for League Two and might be a top performer at that level.
“But you also have a group of players already who have proven that they are outstanding performers for the National League. We have a squad that outperformed in the league below, so we need to see how high their ceiling is.”
Over the river from the club shop queue, comfortably visible to the naked eye if you took away the new-build flats and single-story workshops and outlets further down Meadow Lane, Notts County’s players train on the pitches close to the River Trent.
This land used to belong to Nottingham Forest, but County’s move here in 2019 ended a period of nomadicity. It took some getting used to. The pitches here, near the water, are far softer than they were at Nottingham Trent University and Basford United, two temporary homes.
With promotion, the demands of preseason training change. Williams points out that new players arriving forces him to consider using different formations, which must be trialled. Last season, County were able to dominate the ball in the majority of their games, but that may change at a higher level. Drills change too.
“We have to now try to train with an anticipation of more quality and speed in our opponents,” he adds.
“It would be foolish not to expect those two things to be more prevalent at the higher level. So we have to try and change some of our rules to prepare for different opponents. And we’re preparing defensively to be more efficient at defending against pace.”
To examine what that means, i speaks to head of medical Craig Heiden. He and Ian Hutton, the strength and conditioning coach, saw a rise in physical demand when Williams came into the club in 2022 and so were prepared for that to increase this season.
They created an offseason programme for every player to bridge the gap to preseason training. Then comes the work, accompanied by analysis of physical and medical data to ensure that every player has an individual schedule that best suits their physical fitness and workload. It is, it goes without saying, a busy time of the year.
“Luke likes to play a high-intensity style as soon as we lose the ball,” Heiden says.
“So in terms of training, we are preparing the players to tolerate that physically. Last year, we increased the intensity of training. This year, we all knew that if we went up we would have to do the same again – that has certainly happened.
“That’s not just a case of doing running drills every single session – a lot of it is done with the ball at feet or within football drills. So that has all been planned out. When you have the ball it is easier to wear teams down with relentless pressure.
“This year, we are going into the unknown a little bit. But if we know from a physical standpoint that we are at an unbelievable level, that even if we have a bad day in terms of the football style, we have the ability to grind teams down in a different way and withstand pressure. That is the message behind why we have set the demands at the level we have.”
While the focus – from supporters and media – is usually on the players, the contentment of the staff is also crucial.
These are the people tasked with delivering the message to the players or looking after them. If they are not fulfilled, that message may be diluted and everyone suffers. So work is done behind the scenes to make improvements to make their professional lives easier or more enjoyable.
“My staff have to work very long hours, particularly at this time of year but even in the season,” Williams tells i.
“There’s very short deadlines that are passed to them – work has to be turned around in a short space of time to a certain level. That’s very demanding. So whenever there is a chance to give them something to show them the respect that I have for them, I try to do that if I can.
“I wanted to give the facilities that we use as a football staff – my analysts, coaches and medical staff – a more clinical and modern feel. And that has happened. The feedback has been brilliant and sometimes these apparently small things can make a huge difference to people’s psychology.
“So we had a makeover in the office areas to make them much more in-keeping with how we want to appear on the pitch.”
It’s something that Heiden focuses on too. Promotion can change the careers of players and managers, particularly if they thrive at the higher level. But it’s also a potential game-changer for the staff too. They have generally been here longer than most. They saw the bad times and they deserve to revel in the good.
“We know the history of being the oldest league club and so we want to stay that way,” he says.
“We have come so close every year, and to finally get over the line, it provokes such excitement about what comes next. You appreciate the high points when you have experienced the low. And now everyone at this club is ready to show how good we think we are.”
The last word must go to the supporters. If the staff at Notts County have seen the difference that promotion can bring and the players have revelled in it, it is the supporters who deserve to most anticipate the return of league football.
Williams’ first task at the start of last season was to reconnect the fans with their club. There were frank meetings with the squad about reacting to criticism and the importance of entertaining season-ticket holders.
Williams says he instructed players to get the ball into the box in the first 10 seconds of the match to engage them: “It’s like the first scene of Saving Private Ryan! When you’ve watched that, you can’t not watch the rest of the film.”
A new season and a new dawn lie just around the corner for Notts County. Changes have been made off the field. The squad are being prepared for the greatest physical test of their careers.
Williams is ready for his first shot at the Football League for six years. Some of the players have never tasted it before. That is daunting and exciting in equal measure.
But the greatest aspect of all this for supporters, according to the manager? The potential that still exists.
“This may sound like a very strange thing to say, but I would be so happy if I was a fan because this club is not reliant upon me or even our best players,” he adds.
“The owners have such a clear process and are so driven for success that it doesn’t matter if any of us are surplus to requirements, or if our best players are poached. They will find better people and they will move forward. This club is going to succeed without any of us.”
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/9OnhEzd
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