Paterson wants 'calm' as Notts push for promotion

Boss Martin Paterson says he will keep his high-flying Notts County side grounded as they push for promotion to League One.

The Magpies moved up to second in the League Two table by beating Gillingham on Tuesday night for a fifth successive victory.

While the winning run is the best the club has put together in the English Football League for almost nine years, Paterson insists the Magpies "will not get carried away" with their league position with more than a third of the campaign still to play.

"I'm pleased, but certain staying humble and calm because there is a long way to go," he told BBC Radio Nottingham.

"We just have to keep trying to get better.

"There is recognition that they are working well and they are playing some really good stuff in moments, but there is room for improvement."

Notts' win on Tuesday, which was sealed by Scott Robertson's first-half finish, put the East Midlands club in exactly same position as they were in after as many games last season.

A six-game unbeaten run, which included five victories, had lifted the Stuart Maynard-managed Magpies into the automatic promotion spots in February 2025.

But just five wins in 17 league games after that led them to drop into the play-off places, where they eventually had their campaign ended by AFC Wimbledon at the semi-final stage.

Paterson said he would not "put the blinkers on" after the win against Gillingham, praising his side for "looking really good" up to a point while acknowledging that became "panicky" in their efforts to see out the win.

"But we are getting to that stage of the season when it matters to the players and it matters to everybody, so I can't be too hard on them," he added.

"I'm so proud of them for how they fight, how they compete and how they defend. So I thank them for that.

"And we do compete for every ball, and that's a good place to start. They play for the badge, and it's a massive win."

Victory was made all the more impressive for coming in the absence of leading scorer Alassana Jatta and winger Jodi Jones.

The pair joined captain Matt Palmer on the sidelines on Tuesday, but Paterson insisted after the match that he is "not worried" by the issues that kept Jatta and Jones out.

"They are not disasters," he said.

"They [injuries] are all different and they will all be different timelines [to recovery],but I don't want to start throwing out timelines without real substance behind it.

"My job is to prepare others to make sure they fill the void."