Adam Hassell, Radio Nottingham
Head coach: Martin Paterson
Least season: Sixth (lost in play-off semi-finals)
Key ins: Matty Dennis (Carlisle, free), Tom Iorpenda (Huddersfield, loan), Barry Cotter (Barnsley, loan), Ollie Norburn (Blackpool, free)
Key outs: David McGoldrick (Barnsley, free), Alex Bass (Peterborough, undisclosed)
Expectations? After play-offs defeat in a season Notts will feel they should have got automatically promoted, it’s been all change at Meadow Lane.
A new head coach in Martin Paterson, and a new ‘technical board’ being operated by the club to offer stats and data at every opportunity.
Will it work? If it does, I think Notts will be a challenger at the top again. If it doesn’t, fans might turn and the Magpies could be languishing in mid-table.
Strengths? Notts vastly improved defensively last season, going from a side with the worst goals conceded record the previous campaign, to one of the best last time.
The foundations are pretty solid, and despite losing Alex Bass – seen by some as League Two’s best goalkeeper last season – the signing of Kelle Roos as his replacement is far from shabby. They’ve added grit to the midfield in Ollie Norburn and Tom Iorpenda, and have significantly upped fitness levels in pre-season, so they should be hard to beat.
Weaknesses? Notts lost David McGoldrick in the summer, who was offered a new contract, largely reported as a pay cut, which he rejected to go up a league and join Barnsley.
There is still constant speculation surrounding Alassana Jatta, and whether his future is at Meadow Lane.
Mai Traore signed in January, but has yet to hit the ground running, and the arrival of Matty Dennis from Carlisle is promising, but Notts still don’t have an official number nine in their squad.
Difference-maker? Jodi Jones. Keep him fit and he’s simply too good for the level. Throughout pre-season, he’s been played as a number 10, rather than at wing-back, so hopefully he will have more influence on games and score a hatful of goals.
