How Stuart Maynard went from ‘man in a van’ to Notts boss

“I always look at the pressure I put on myself as being bigger than any pressure from the outside,” he said.

“Whether we are good or bad, I demand so much of myself in always trying to get better every day. I try to block out all the noise in football; social media is not something I look at because you have to be so focused on what you do.

“That is something I did, and in the end I coped. You know when you are losing games of football there is going to be pressure on you; that is the nature of the beast. I’m not naive to know that you are not under pressure, especially at a club of this size and where we were.

“The key was that we had a plan; we knew what direction we needed to go in, and that in the end we needed to get to the summer to make changes.

“And we got there, we made changes, and we have come out strong on the other side now.”

Having League Two’s top scorer, Macaulay Langstaff, and record-breaking assists provider, Jodi Jones, was not enough to keep Notts among the contenders last season, as the Magpies also had the worst defence in the league.

While Langstaff was sold to Championship side Millwall, and Jones’ influence has been hampered by injuries, they have the prolific pairing of Alassana Jatta and David McGoldrick – who have 22 league goals between them – and a more resolute backline that has kept nine clean sheets in the league to date this term.

“I’ve said from the start of the season that the starting XI won’t bring us real success, it’s the squad that will help us in that promotion push,” Maynard said.

“They have adapted so well, the whole squad. As a collective, we have stepped up to the plate and stayed right up there in the division and in the mix.”

Notts’ game at Accrington on Saturday will be the first of five games against sides in the lower half of the table – a run that includes home games against bottom two, Morecambe and Carlisle United.

While Maynard refuses to look beyond their next fixture, he is certain of where he wants to get his side.

“Being promoted to League One is a big ambition of the football club,” he said. “We don’t want to stand still.”