Notts County manager Mark Cooper is working on making his new charges more confident and expressive before their trip to Fratton Park on Friday.
The former Swindon boss is hoping he can bring his brand of attacking football to Meadow Lane to get goals back in the Magpies game, having only scored six in their last eight games.
County have struggled in the league lately, picking up only 10 points during Jamie Fullarton’s tenure.
Cooper says he found confidence in the squad to be low when he took charge of the team for the first time Monday.
The new boss said: “The challenge for them is to answer the questions and the doubters.”
“If they show what they’ve shown in training… we should be alright.”
He added: “Ehen Ricardo [Moniz] was here, they played some brilliant football” but added that it was important to find the right balance.
On tomorrow’s trip to Portsmouth, Cooper gave Pompeyt a shining review for their style of play but does see weaknesses that can be exploited: “You can lose games because you take chances.
“They play one versus ones and overloads in their own defensive third.”
In team news Cooper has already decided on side that will play against Portsmouth and confirmed that Stanley Aborah will be included.
The Fratton Park game will kick-off at 3pm on Friday.
