Blarney

Match Forty-Six Nottinghamshire Live A nice win to finish the season in front of the fans that traveled in support of the club. And Langstaff coming on as a sub and scoring really put the point on the exclamation mark for the season. Why wsa he used in that role for this match instead of as a starter? Eddie Sirrel I held many of my first choice players out for the match to give them a little rest since in the scheme of things the match didn't matter. The plan was always to let a few of them come in as subs late in the match and finish it out for our supporters in attendance.

Match Forty-Five BBC Radio Nottingham It took 45 matches to get it done but you've done what most thought impossible this season and earned promotion to League One. It's probably pointless asking you how you're feeling but how are you feeling? Eddie Sirrel Over the moon. I am beyond proud of these lads. Just beyond proud. We set a goal for ourselves at the start of the season that everybody said we couldn't do and it took almost the whole year to get it done, but we did it. We did it. BBC Radio Nottingham You got the win in front of the hometown crowd, how big is that? Eddie Sirrel They have been there for us from day one. This is how it's supposed to be. BBC Radio Nottingham Any thoughts to next season? Back-to-back-to-back promotions? Eddie Sirrel Way to early. I want to celebrate this with the boys now. Then we have one more match to go to finish the season and then maybe just a little time off to catch my breath and then it's getting ready for next year.

April in Review **just a quick update with only 2 matches left** Schedule Great start. Terrible finish. Table It all comes down to the finish. Nottingham Post Interview Post You've faltered over the last 2 matches when you've had a chance to lock up promotion. Is the pressure getting to the players? Eddie Sirrel No, I don't.. I don't think that's it. I would hope not. Everyone knows what's ahead of them and what's required. I just think we haven't produced as we can. Post You're still in a very good position. You're up by 4 points with just 2 matches left. One win and you're up. Even a couple of draws and you're probably still promoted. Does that help take the pressure off? Eddie Sirrel Again, any pressure is what we're putting on ourselves. Does it help that we're in the drivers seat? Of course. We still have to go out and do it. Post Any concerns with Kovacevic or are you planning a change? Eddie Sirrel No, no concerns at all. We have to do a better job as a group. Defense isn't one person on this team. Post Nobody picked your club for promotion this season. Most had you finishing mid-table at best, yet here you are holding the 2nd spot. If you fail to earn automatic promotion and lose in the playoffs, will this season be a failure in your eyes? Eddie Sirrel I'm not prepared to talk about 'what-ifs' like that. I'm not even entertaining anything that has to do with failure. But... to answer your question, no, the season isn't a failure if we don't go up, because that wasn't the expectation this season. However, OUR expectation is always victory and promotions... so although not a failure, it won't be a success either.

Match Forty-Four BBC Radio Nottingham With our apologies, this has to go down as one of the most embarassing losses you've faced since taking the lead at Notts County. What went wrong? Eddie Sirrel We gave up a lot of goals. BBC Radio Nottingham Care to elaborate? Eddie Sirrel Our defense was terrible. Nottingham Post You lost Mair at the start of the month to injury. You've decided to give Kovacevic the reigns and he's given up 10 goals in 4 matches now. Is that experiment over? Will another name be in the box next match? Eddie Sirrel Kova was rushed into the starting job as an 18-year old with not much first team experience. I think he's going to have a great career but we need to do a better job of protecting him as well and I won't put all the blame on him. We have 2 matches left so we'll see how training goes and go from there.

Match Forty-Three

Match Forty-Two

Match Forty-One

Off topic a bit but that's just a really cool design of a stadium... different than a lot of others, but just cool. I really like how you post all the pictures (I did that in one save and then got away from it) but I like looking at the different stadium designs as an outsider that doesn't know most of them. There are just some excellent stadiums out there, much different than what we do here in the states.

March in Review Schedule We are marching toward the end and holding our own. Table 6 matches remain and we're 5 points in the clear of automatic promotion but if nothing else in the playoffs at least. League Two Team Stats League Two Player Stats Financials

Match Forty

Mair Injured BBC Radio Nottingham Archie has been your first choice keeper since last season when he was in on loan. You thought enough about him that you signed him during the off-season and he's started every match for you this year. How big of a blow is it that he's lost for the season -- even though there remain only 7 matches -- and potentially for the start of next season as well, depending on his recovery time? Eddie Sirrel Archie has been a superb player for us the past couple of seasons so it's a big loss, yeah. But this is the game and we all know these things happen and it's up to the rest to step up and soften the blow. Luckily, unlike last season, we have much better depth at the keeper position. We have Aidan McAdams, who is a capable backup player but we also have Alex Kovacevic who we signed as a youngster and has been outstanding for our Under 18 club. We'll give both a shot in training and plan to move forward as best we can.

Match Thirty-Nine Magpie Weekly Is there something special about beating Wrexham considering how you've been linked the past couple of seasons? Eddie Sirrel Not especially. I appreciate the quality of the club but they're no different than any other team we face, we always want to win. I'd wager that for most of our supporters perfoming well against one of our local rivals is more important -- even though Wrexham have gained a bit of a reputation the past couple of years.

Match Thirty-Eight

Match Thirty-Seven

Match Thirty-Six

February in Review Schedule It was a much needed light month. We were able to get a little rest and continue our good run in league play. It was an unfortunate loss in the FA Cup but against great competition I can't be upset. Table A lot can change but it seems it's between 4 clubs for the #2 and #3 spots in the league and automatic promotion. I think Colchester has the #1 spot wrapped up, they are almost unbeatable at the moment. League Two Team Stats League Two Player Stats Langstaff has been on a role and now holds the top spot in goals scored, while Jaden Williams has the highest average rating in the league. Financials

Match Thirty-Five Nottingham Post You held a clear 60-40 advantage in possession yet seemed to be on your back heels most of the game as Sutton pressed you and spent more time in your half than theirs. Were you lucky here to escape with the draw? Eddie Sirrel Lucky? No. Sutton definitely had us running backwards most of the game it seemed but we buckled down and when needed and kept them from scoring and that's what matters. This was definitely not one of our better games - taking nothing away from Sutton - but we got a point from it and we'll take it when we're not at our best.

Match Thirty-Four

Match Thirty-Three Magpie Weekly So to put it lightly you and Burton manager, Keith Gilroy, had a bit of back and forth leading up to the match, starting with his less than flattering assessment of Notts County as a club and you as a manager. You fired back at Burton's standings in the league and that - paraphrasing - you didn't give 2 seconds thought to what he had to say about the club or you. Does this victory suggest you've won that war of words? Eddie Sirrel It means we won this match... and that's the end of it as far as I"m concerned.

FA Cup Fourth Round Nottingham Post You held them 1-1 until the last minute of the first half... was that goal a real let-down for the club? Eddie Sirrel It's never good to give up goals but when you do it right at the end of the first half and instead of going in 1-1 you're down 1-2.... that's definitely not optimal. BBC Radio Nottingham The 2nd half sort of fell apart and at one point Wolverhampton were up 4-1 before you put your 2nd goal in and at least made it a contest again. Was this just a case of them being a better club at this point? Eddie Sirrel Of that there's no doubt. I hope the boys don't mind me saying but we all know the differences between a Premier Club and one back in League Two. I'm very proud of how we stayed with them for a long as we did but they absolutely outplayed us. Now, saying that, we missed some opportunities in front of the net and I think the pressure got to us a little bit. We missed a few passes and I thought had an opportunity to pressure them more than we did. All credit to Wolverhampton though, they came to our house and definitely played like the team we thought they were.

FA Cup Preview Fourth Round BBC Radio Nottingham This is one of Notts Counties biggest FA Cup matches in recent history. The last time the club made the Fourth Round of the FA Cup was back in the 2017/18 season where they faced Swansea City and were... for lack of a better word, embarrassed in the 2nd leg with a 8-1 trouncing. The last time the club made it past the Fourth Round was back in the 2009 season. This is going to be a much tougher battle on the pitch. Do you stand a chance of advancing? Eddie Sirrel I don't think we were favorites in at least the last 2 matches and we got past both so there's that. Look, Wolverhampton is a fantastic football club and it's a wonderful opportunity to once again test our mettle. We're going into the match loose with absolutely nothing to lose so expect us to go out there and give everything as always and we'll see what happens.

Doing well, definitely some ups and some downs. That home and away record is concerning as you said, but you're holding your own against some good competition. 12-0 wins are always nice also!

January in Review Schedule Good month, we'll take it. Only played 5 league matches but won 3, 1 draw and 1 loss. Top it off with the HUGE FA Cup victory over Leeds and I'm ecstatic over the results. Table I think Colchester has wrapped up the top spot but the next 6 teams on the table are within 7 points of eachother. The next 6 are only 13 points out of 2nd place and 6 points out of a playoff spot. The next few months are going to be good. League Two Team Stats League Two Player Stats Financials

Match Thirty-Two

Match Thirty-One