Matt finish: Let's find that cutting edge to get Magpies over the line

NOTTS County have struggled to find a consistent rhythm in this latter part of the season as they prepare for the final five games of the campaign.

- By SAM ALLEN

Just as it felt the Magpies had regained their mojo with comfortable victories away at Newport County and at home against MK Dons, they were frustrated in defeat to play-off-chasing Colchester United last weekend.

Stuart Maynard and his team are fortunate in that others in this race have also been inconsistent, which means they are still capable of getting automatic promotion.

To do that, though, they need to hit their stride now and find a way to pick up maximum points from these final five. This will be difficult in a league that has proven to be as competitive as ever from top to bottom.

"It's so tight at the top," said Notts centre-back Matty Platt. "We just have to take it game by game; if you look too far ahead of yourself, it can put you off, and you end up slipping down.