Maynard says County transfer window ‘breathes confidence’ into Magpies
Stuart Maynard said that the squad will be stronger than it was at the start of the transfer window
By Callum Wright
Notts County head coach Stuart Maynard has says the club are “really happy” with the business done over the January transfer window.
Speaking ahead of the Magpies’ League Two clash against struggling Morecambe at Meadow Lane on Saturday, February 8, Maynard spoke about both the players the club were able to bring through the door and those they were able to hold onto.
“We were calm, didn’t do any business late last-minute that we knew that we didn’t need to, it was all done in advance,” he said.
“Really happy with the business and happy with no outgoings late on.”
Much of the speculation of the window was whether forward and the Magpies’ top scorer Alassana Jatta would stay at Meadow Lane amid heavy interest from other clubs, and Maynard praised the Gambian for his professionalism during the month.
He said: “It’s very easy when there’s speculation to take your eye off the ball a little bit – but he didn’t, he trained like a true professional like he does every day and gives everything, he’s proud to be playing for Notts County.
“There’s been a lot of interest and it’s to be expected, if you look at the level that he’s performed to and the goals that he’s scored, he’s scoring all types of goals now, but it shows as a football club that we’re doing something incredibly right that these players are coming in now and they’re performing to a very high level.”
Maynard also revealed the club had rejected concrete bids for Jatta earlier in the window.
The Magpies brought in a new player on deadline day in Guinean striker Maï Traoré, who has drawn lots of comparisons to Jatta with his background in Scandinavian football and profile as a player.
“He’s powerful like AJ [Alassana Jatta], he wants to run in behind, he’s more of a dribbler type of forward but he’s a psychical presence,” Maynard said.
“We’re excited to be getting him on board, I’m really looking forward to be working with him, we’re hoping he’ll be on board and training next week.”
The Magpies signed three players alongside Traore across the window, with winger Will Jarvis joining from Hull City, forward Charlie Whittaker signing from Everton U21s and defender Zak Johnson joining on loan from Sunderland U21s, and despite losing key player Dan Crowley to MK Dons earlier in the window, Maynard assessed the window overall as positive.
“I think we’re stronger in the sense that we’ve got our injuries back, we had key players that are back now and then we’ve added to the group, there’s real competition for places now,” Maynard said.
“It breathes confidence, it shows the ambition of where we want to get to and where we want to be, we’re always trying to add to the group to make it competitive.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s fixture, the Magpies sit third in the League Two table which puts them in an automatic promotion position, while Morecambe are 23rd and in the relegation zone.
Despite the difference in form between the sides – County have one defeat in nine while Morecambe have six – Maynard says they’re expecting a tough game.
“They’ve [Morecambe] been on the wrong end of results, they’re got real threat in the top end of the pitch, when you look at their squad on paper they’ve got a very good squad of players and I think they’ve just been a little unfortunate,” he said.
“We can’t really look at the league position, I think anyone in this division can beat anyone so we’ve got to be solely focused and know their threats.”
Notts County will play Morecambe at 3:00pm on Saturday at Meadow Lane.
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