Blarney

A conversation with Eddie Sirrel Magpie Weekly Thanks for sitting with us and answering a few questions, Eddie. Eddie Sirrel Not a problem. Magpie Weekly So we talked a little before and I know you're not going to give us much of an answer but you know the supporters want to know. There have been some rumors of discontent with some players following the FA Cup loss and maybe the way some took your comments after the match. Can you or will you comment on any of that? Eddie Sirrel No. Magpie Weekly Is there anything you can say about the situation at all? Eddie Sirrel (after a short pause) I'm never going to comment much on internet issues, whether real or imagined. Was I a bit tough after the FA Cup loss, yes. Absolutely. But if there was anybody in that changing room that didn't feel that way, wasn't upset or ashamed or that didn't know that that wasn't good enough.... there's the door. I don't want them on my club. The supporters don't want them on my club. Look... it's a game. It's a game. It isn't war. It isn't life or death. It's a game. But it's one that you're paid to perform in, whether it's National League or Premier League. If you're doing poorly on the pitch and then laughing about it after or acting like you don't care... you won't be on my club. Again, not life and death, I get it that people will react to things differently but I was embarassed after that match. Embarassed. Everybody in that changing room had better of been embarassed. Did I maybe rip into them a little bit, yeah probably, and we've had that conversation. I had expectations... expectations matched by the board and by supporters of at least giving it our all in the FA Cup and we didn't do that. So if I was upset, get used to it. Doesn't mean I don't love each and every guy in that changing room. Doesn't mean I'm not impressed by what we've done this season so far... and it's still early. It's much like if your kid disappoints you once, you don't stop loving them but you're not just going to forgive them either. Magpie Weekly Fair enough. Moving on. You've given up 15 goals in the last 4 matches... losing 1 and drawing in another. You're still scoring - 17 in those 4 matches - which was enough to salvage a couple of wins... but obviously something is wrong. You've lost Mair probably for 6-8 weeks with a broken hand which means he's going to possibly be out 2 or 3 more weeks. Slocombe and Brooks are just not doing it. Forgive the bluntness. Was this a concern or should it have been a concern before the season started that there doesn't appear to be an adequate backup keeper on the club? Eddie Sirrel We've not been happy with the results and our defense has been porous but that's about more than just 1 person. Brooks is young and he's going to make some mistakes. Slocombe has been around and he's had a bit of an up and down season but they both have my absolute confidence. There is no other option so they're going to have to figure it out. Magpie Weekly The good news is that Oldham finally slipped a little and you're on top of the table by yourselves now. Do you think you can stay and has the foundation been laid for you to win the league this year and finally earn an automatic promotion? Eddie Sirrel That has been the plan from day one. It continues to be the plan. I have complete faith in my boys and everybody at the club that we're all pushing for the same thing. Magpie Weekly Thanks for your time.

October in Review Schedule Three months into the season and we've "finally" faced a little adversity. It started with the heartbreaking loss to Wrexham... followed 2 matches later with a humiliating defeat in the FA Cup to a much worse team and then 2 match later we drew against the worst team in the National League. Still news really isn't all that bad as we look at the updated table. Table Which stil shows us in first place... alone now as Oldham has "faltered" a little in the past month as well. National League Team Stats We're still up in team rankings but not like we were at the start of the season. National League Player Stats I really don't know what we would do without Langstaff and Scott who hold the 1st and 2nd place in goals scored this season so far... and 1st and 3rd in average rating.

Match Seventeen

Magpie Weekly There have been some rumblings that after the disappointing FA Cup loss that some players on Notts County aren't overly happy with the response from manager, Eddie Sirrel. Nottinghamshire Live sat down with winger, Cedwyn Scott, who seemed to support the tongue lashing that was given after the game but we've heard that some others weren't so appreciative. We're not suggesting that there's a breakdown in the changing room, at least not yet. But the club has given up 11 goals in the last 3 matches, including their loss in the FA Cup and yesterdays draw against Wealdstone - a club sitting dead last on the table and one that by all rights has no right by drawing or winning against the club in first place. No disrespect intended toward Wealdstone... but come on. Some of that may lay at the feet of Mair going down but we think it's far deeper than that at the moment. Sirrel has bounced back and forth between 34-year old Slocombe and 20-year old Brooks as keeper but obviously neither is doing the job. Perhaps more attention should have been paid to having a suitable backup on the club? But all the blame can't be placed on not having your starting keeper. The overall defense all year long has been good until now. If you watch the matches the guys on the back are being routinely beaten now. They're reacting slower, they're not marking the same they were in previous matches. They just look slower. Granted we say all this - and it sounds doom and gloom - but Notts is still in first place on the table. First place for now... but not playing like they want to stay there.

Match Sixteen

Match Fifteen

Fallout from the FA Cup Nottinghamshire Live We had a chance to catch up with Notts County winger, Cedwyn Scott, following the disappointing result against Southend. Thanks for taking a few minutes with us, Cedwyn. Can you talk about the match? Cedwyn Scott Heartbreaker. Not what any of us expected but maybe we learned not to look past anyone. I'm not saying we did that but what you saw on the pitch wasn't what we should be doing. Nottinghamshire Live Needless to say Eddie Sirrel didn't have much to say after the match but sort of said the same that that wasn't the expectation. How was the talk after the loss? Cedwyn Scott Gaffer wasn't happy and nobody can blame him. If anybody in that room was happy then they don't need to be in the room. But we can't look at one match and assume that's who we are. We won 12 matches in a row in the league before losing to Wrexham and then we won another after that... so we're 13-1 in the league. That doesn't excuse the lack of effort against Southend but we know who we are and we will definitely take that loss and get better.

Hate losing to them. Haha. No, they're a good club and as I said it's not that we expected to go undefeated. Giving up a goal in the 95th minute is heartwrenching though. I'm more disappointed with the result in the FA Cup but in fairness I did rest some guys thinking we'd have an 'easier' match there. My fault.

FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round Nottinghamshire Live It was an outstanding offensive performance by both clubs... Eddie Sirrel Or a lack of defense played, if you want to look at it that way. Nottinghamshire Live Glass half full or half empty? Obviously you would have been considered the favorites here and looking forward to continuining on in the competition. How is the team taking this and can you express any thoughts on the loss at the moment. Eddie Sirrel Honestly I don't really have it in me right now to put a coherent thought together. Obviously this was not the plan. I take nothing away from Southend but this is a contest we should be winning. The expectaitons were to move forward in this competition and I'm deeply concerned about our quality of play in this match. Deeply concerned. I expect much more and honestly every man on that pitch better expect more or we can talk about what changes need to be made to bring in someone that does care.

Match Fourteen

Match Thirteen Nottingham Post So the run is over. 12 straight wins comes to an end with the loss to Wrexham. Quite a heartbreaking loss as well with the winning goal given up in the 95th minute. How is the team responding to this right now? Eddie Sirrel So I'm supposed to be upset and in some ways obviously I am, but it's not like I expected us to go undefeated for the season. That doesn't mean I like losing or accept it but we just got outplayed today and those things are going to happen. The important thing is now that it doesn't become a habit and we turn things around quickly. That's what you want to see from the lads.

Match Twelve Magpie Weekly Can you explain the range of emotions in this match? You go down 0-1 in the 11th minute and then Mair goes out with what appears to be some sort of hand or arm injury - maybe you can comment on that as well. Altrincham scores again in the 22nd minute against your backup keeper... who isn't a keeper because you didn't have one on the bench so you used a center-back in that position instead. So it's 2-0 Altrincham at the half... which could have just as easily been 3-0 but they missed what most would say was a pretty easy shot at the end of the half. Somehow your defense steps up and keeps them out of the net for the entire 2nd half but you can't seem to score either. Noticeably you had Langstaff out for this match - assuming he needed a rest - and Scott starting at striker. And then Scott finally finds the net in the 82nd minute... Palmer finds it just a few minutes later... and then in the 92nd minute Palmer heads one from way out on a cross from Jones and you win the match. Are these the sort of matches that you look at and just say "okay maybe it's our year?" Eddie Sirrel Well the emotions are all over the place. Mair did hurt his hand... in fact it's broken. He'll see a specialist tomorrow but he's going to be out several weeks at minimum. No, I did not have a suitable backup on the bench, that's on me. Probably was a mistake. We could have paid for that mistake but my guys pulled it out. So yeah otherwise, emotions all over the place as I said. You feel for the lads because you saw the look on their face when Mair went down and we really struggled, I mean really struggled with the ball. They held possession and every time we had the ball they just were all over us. We managed to get shot after shot after shot off but we couldn't find the back of the net for anything until late in the 2nd half and then they started falling. But credit to the boys for going out there and not giving up.

Financials Made a little money this month which is better than losing money but we're still struggling.

September in Review Schedule Back-to-back perfect months. We are definitely firing on all cylinders. Table But we're not the only club going off this season so far. We can't put any distance between us and Oldham who are matching us step for step. Wrexham has definitely turned their season around since their disastrous start and sit in 3rd at the moment but are 11 points behind. National League Team Stats National League Player Stats Langstaff is just a football god... he is absolutely unstoppable this season so far.

Match Eleven Nottingham Live That's 11 wins in a row to start the new season which is a new Notts County record. Were you aware of the record and how are you feeling regarding your start? Eddie Sirrel I actually wasn't aware until after the match was over and one of our people came over and let us know. I don't want to downplay the record because it's great but we're looking for beyond that right now. What those wins mean is that we're putting it all together from training to the actual matches. The atmosphere is awesome right now around the club and that's what we want to keep up.

Match Ten

Match Nine

Match Eight

Transfer News Bailey Signed Nottingham Post Following the surprise transfer of Rodrigues you've turned around and brought another played in... and another player from Gateshead of all places. Can you tell us about Owen Bailey? Eddie Sirrel Yeah so one door closes and another opens. Owen's a young guy that can play as both a center mid or defensive mid... or even as a center back if needed so there's a lot of versatility there. We're definitely thinking we could move him around on the pitch to help us out. Nottingham Post You gave up an attacking midfielder in Rodrigues and your lack of depth there seemed to suggest that maybe that would be what you were looking to bring in. Is that still the plan? Eddie Sirrel I'm going to go back to what my grandfather always said and I said in my introduction interview.... give me the best players and let them go. If I need to change up tactics or formations or put people in positions that maybe they're not used to playing but I think they can do it, then we'll make it work. So I'm not necessarily looking for anything in particular, I just want good players.

Transfer News Rodrigues Gone Magpie Weekly Supporters are questioning why move Rodrigues and especially now. Is it due to the work permit issues? Eddie Sirrel We knew early on that Ruben planned on exploring options after his contract expired this season. I approached him and told him we wanted him here but we needed that commitment and offered him a new contract which he accepted. Unfortunately there were work permit issues and we tried very hard to get that decision overturned but it didn't happen. After that happened we told Ruben that we decided to pull the offer off the table and explore other options. At that point our hands are a little tied and we're left either letting the player walk at the end of the season and getting nothing in return or exploring if we can put them up for transfer and get something in return. Magpie Weekly Is there any concern that moving Rodrigues now will have a negative effect on the club considering how well the season has started? Eddie Sirrel Tough question. Obviously there is a concern when you shake anything up, whether it's letting someone go or bringing someone in. You always hope you're making the right choice. The offer was there and rather than chance turning it down and hoping we get another one, we decided to take it and move on.

Match Seven

Financials \ Not real good. Our financial status is insecure. Ownership doesn't really want to put a lot of money into giving players long-term contracts. I don't have money to really go out and get anybody good... so we're pretty much making do with what we have. And that's fine, we're talented enough to compete this season but hopefully if we do continue to win the board will recognize that and put a little money into the club.

Excellent start to the season. Made more special by the unbelievable differences in wage budget that you have compared to the rest of the league. Just goes to show the hard work and dedication to scouting can make the difference.

Magpie Weekly We're excited that we got an opportunity to spend a few minutes with Notts Co manager, Eddie Sirrel, today and ask him a few questions about how things are going after an incredible month of matches. I guess we should start there. How is the feeling at the club after sweeping the month with 6 straight wins, many in pretty exciting fashion. Eddie Sirrel Yeah, you could say that everybody is in pretty high spirits right now but we have to temper that you know. It's 6 games. It's the first month of a very long season. Now before anybody calls me out for being all down and out or whatever, I'll take the 6 wins every month. I'll take 5 wins every month. I am beyond happy for the players and the supporters but we all know it's just the beginning. You can't win the league the first month of the season... but on the other hand you certainly can do a lot to throw it away if you don't start out well. So we're on the right side of things at least. Magpie Weekly You had 3 straight matches where you scored 4 goals. You've scored 20 through 6 games now. in the pre-season you said you thought you were going to be okay on the offensive side of the ball, you felt your attack had the possibility to be special. Did you see this? Eddie Sirrel I'd love to say I did. Look, we brought in a couple of special players in Langstaff and Scott and they're absolutely living up to the billing right now. I'm over the moon with the possibilities this season when it comes to what we might do with the ball and how quickly we can put it in the net. But I don't want to put too much pressure on the lads. So far so good is what I'll say. But beyond that, the team effort has been outstanding. We're moving the ball, I believe we're first in overall possession and in conversion rate right now as well. Statistically we're looking very good. Magpie Weekly Since you brought them up. What a coup you pulled off. You brought in the reigning National League North Player of the Year and Mr. Golden Boot himself, McCauley Langstaff, over from Gateshead AND on top of that their 2nd leading scorer in Cedwyn Scott... and what a show they've put on so far for you. 8 goals in 6 matches from Langstaff and 5 from Scott. Could you ask for more? Eddie Sirrel No. I'm so proud of what they've done and I'm so excited that the Notts County supporters get to see this. Yes, it was a big get for the club. We had holes to fill and our scouting department did a great job -- Magpie Weekly Of which you were a part of in finding these guys. Eddie Sirrel Well I was a small part in evaluating them, yes, but overall the scouting department did a great job of identifying some guys we thought could fill some holes and then we went to work on determining who we thought best could do the job. As it turned out we found 2 guys from the same club. Magpie Weekly A club that earned promotion last season to the National League and now has to face you and their 2 ex-players twice this year. Eddie Sirrel That's football. Magpie Weekly Well it certainly has been an exciting start to the season, we truly appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. Eddie Sirrel Anytime. Come On You Pies!

August in Review Schedule It's very difficult to be much better than perfect for the month. But to do it in style where you score 20 goals in 6 matches.... not bad. Table We sit at the top but Oldham is right there with us with a perfect month as well. National League Team Stats Green everywhere you look. We're blitzing the league in goals scored, pass completion ratio and conversion rate. And we're 2nd in average possession. Not a bad start. National League Player Stats Langstaff leads the league in goals scored but Cedwyn is tied for 2nd and has the best overall average rating as well.