Angry Kevin Nolan tells Notts County players ‘they’re in for horrible 48 hours’

Posted Sunday, February 11, 2018 by PA

Notts County manager Kevin Nolan was furious with his players after Sky Bet League Two basement side Barnet nicked a 1-0 win.

Alex Nicholls was the match-winner with a powerful effort from the edge of the box in the third minute of stoppage time.

Both sides had opportunities throughout the game but Nicholls’ late goal gave the Bees their first win of 2018 as County missed out on the chance to move back into the top three.

“My players couldn’t pass the ball to each other. It’s the first time I’m not going to protect them because that was not good enough,” Nolan said.

“They only listened for five or 10 minutes and went back to what they were doing. That’s why they didn’t get success. I’m not accepting it.

“I said we’re all in it together but when we’ve got that many fans coming here in the rain, they deserve a goal, so that was not acceptable.

“We have to go back to where we were six weeks ago. It seems to me they’ve become too soft and started to believe it’s their right to win.

“I’m absolutely gutted about today. I don’t think I’ve seen a poorer performance from our lads in terms of what we ask of them and what we want from them. They look like they didn’t want it.

“We’re trying to help them, but it seems they know better at the minute, and that has to change. There’s going to be changes as we’ll be working hard.

“If they don’t want to listen, they know to see me and we’ll find somewhere else for them. It certainly won’t be in my squad if they don’t start listening quickly enough.

“They’re in for a horrible 48 hours. They’ll be in tonight, watching that video when we get home.

“That’s how angry I am at them. They can tell me what they think of it.”

Barnet boss Graham Westley was ecstatic after getting the first win of his tenure.

“We are more than a match for any team in this league. I said it before the game and I’ll say it again now,” Westley said.

“Any side we play are a League Two team – none of them are Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal or Tottenham.

“My sides are famed for getting late goals and not conceding them so it was good that we saw out the threat that the wind and anxious performance brought.

“It’s certainly nice when there’s just 30 seconds [after you go ahead] and you haven’t got to hang around for five or six minutes because that’s an awful experience.

“We’re producing some really good football and credit to the players because they are very willing learners, a really positive bunch and what they lack in experience they make up for in learning and energy.

“I’m really enjoying working with them and it’s terrific to see them enjoying their win.”