Notts County’s Flexibility and Performance Affected by Injuries, Says Coach Stuart Maynard

Notts County head coach Stuart Maynard, who assumed the role in January, attributes the team’s reduced ability to adapt to various opponents to a series of injuries. Five crucial players, including Jodi Jones, last season’s League Two player of the season known for a record number of assists, were unavailable for Saturday’s 2-0 loss against Crewe. Curtis Edwards and Conor Grant have been sidelined since September, similar to Jones, while midfielder Scott Robertson and forward Dan Crowley have not participated in games since October. Speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham, Maynard expressed his frustration: “It’s been a big frustration for us as a football club in the sense of if you imagine where we could be if we had a fully-fit squad,” he stated. He elaborated that this issue “is more down to different options for different games.” Maynard further explained, “Like today, there would have been different options for a different team selection because of the way we wanted to come here, the way we wanted to approach the game, the way we wanted to attack them and the way we believe we could come here and win.” He concluded, “That kind of changes, with the kind of players we have available, what we really wanted to do today.” The Notts County head coach discussed the 2-0 defeat at Crewe with Dave Bracegirdle. Following Crewe’s victory, they ascended to second place in the League Two standings, surpassing Notts County, who consequently fell from third to sixth position. Maynard characterized “frustration” as the predominant sentiment after the loss, adding that Notts “were not good enough as a group,” a statement in which he explicitly included himself. Alassana Jatta, the team’s leading scorer, was also unavailable for the match, as he was on international duty representing The Gambia. Maynard reiterated a season-long belief, stating, “We said from the start of the season that the starting XI won’t bring you real success, the squad will.” He acknowledged the team’s resilience, noting, “The squad has done incredibly [well], with the injuries that we have had, to get us to this point with the points we have.” He concluded by emphasizing the impact of missing players: “It will always hurt you when you don’t have your full squad – it hurts everyone and it’s hurt us.”