By Callum Wright
Notts County manager Stuart Maynard says his side needs to be more clinical if they are to win Saturday’s League Two fixture against AFC Wimbledon.
The Magpies host the Dons at Meadow Lane on October 19 (KO 3pm), and hope to improve on their recent dip in home form.
Back-to-back losses at the Lane, against Northampton in the EFL trophy and Port Vale in the league, have both come without scoring a goal.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Maynard said the team need more “focus and composure” in front of goal if they want to pick up important points.
“We’ve got to make sure that we’re more clinical-I think that’s been the missing ingredient if you look at us at home,” he said.
“We keep creating the big chances but we’ve got to be more clinical, if we are then we’ll start to get the results we deserve. If you look at the chances we’ve created they’re big chances-if you give a player probably nine of them they probably take seven or eight-they’re not half chances.”
With 12 of the Magpies’ 19 points coming on the road this season, Maynard added that he wants to show the Meadow Lane crowd improvements on home turf and turn their performances into points.
“We’re firm believers that if you keep performing to that high level the results will come and we believe that the results will come at home,” he said.
“We want to make this place (Meadow Lane) a fortress, the fans have been incredible at home-even in the losses they’ve backed them all the way to the end.”
“I think we’ve been very unfortunate-our performances levels have warranted a lot more points at home especially but we’ve got to get back to winning ways-we know how much our home form will mean to us this season.”
County travelled to Chesterfield for their last fixture on October 12, where a 94th minute equaliser from David McGoldrick ensured they won a point. Maynard praised McGoldrick in during the press conference for being a major goal contributor so far this season, with five in ten appearances to date.
He said: “If you look at Didzy (McGoldrick), with a lot of the goals he’s scored this season, they’ve been magic.
“It’s been nothing to do with structure-he’s gone into it and beaten players and put the ball in the top corner, that’s a bit of magic you do need sometimes.”
Maynard added there are no new injury concerns ahead of Saturday.
He said: “We’re pretty much there getting back to the full squad which gives us a headache as a management team-but they’re the headaches that we want.”
Jodi Jones remains unavailable through his long-term injury and Cedwyn Scott will be unavailable through an indefinite leave due to mental health.
County sit 3rd in the table and can go top with a win if Port Vale and Doncaster drop points. Wimbledon are 10th but are only three points behind and have played three fewer games than the Magpies due to the damage flooding did to their pitch in September.
Former Wimbledon defender Rod McDonald joined Maynard at the press conference and spoke about his past few months at the club after joining the Magpies in the summer and dealing with injury since.
“It’s always a bit frustrating when you come into a new place, you want to hit the ground running but for me it was completely the opposite really,” he said.
“It’s just good that the lads are doing tremendous. It’s always difficult to try and mix in with a new club from the injury side of things but everyone has been brilliant.”
“My bread and butter is going to be the league this season-obviously I’ve got some stiff competition but that’s what football’s all about. All the boys have gelled really well together.”
The Magpies have lost to AFC Wimbledon in all four meetings they’ve had since the Dons were created in 2002, meaning a win on Saturday would write a small chapter of League Two history.