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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Sport
Chris Watson

'Time-wasting' - Notts County man sends Chesterfield promotion warning

Notts County defender Adam Chicksen would relish the chance to face rivals Chesterfield again this season as the two teams battle for promotion back to the Football League.

The Magpies drew 1-1 with the Spireites in Saturday's National League encounter at Meadow Lane. The sides are sixth and third in the table, respectively, heading into the home straight of the regular campaign.

Chicksen was pleased with the performance from Notts, who were beaten 3-1 at Chesterfield at the beginning of this month. And he is already thinking about the prospect of a potential rematch in the play-offs should Notts get there.

"It was a very entertaining game to play in, especially after their place, which left a bitter taste in our mouths," said the former MK Dons, Brighton, Charlton, Bradford and Bolton man. "We wanted to come back and put on more of a respectable show for the fans - and I think we did that.

Read more: Notts County player ratings as Magpies held by Chesterfield

Read more: Kyle Wootton salvages a point against promotion rivals Chesterfield

"We had chances to win the game, we controlled the game and felt comfortable. We played the football we actually wanted to play, rather than how we did at their place."

Asked about the possibility of the teams meeting again in the play-offs, Chicksen replied: "Yeah, maybe we will. There's so much more confidence with the lads how we performed. We moved the ball well and we dominated - and you see them time-wasting within 10 minutes of the second half. So for us, that fills me with confidence that we're doing the right things and controlling the game.

"Probably overall it was about even, if you look at the two teams. They are a hard team to play against and give them credit for how they go about their work. They run and they work hard for each other, but probably the best chances did fall to us at the end and we could have won it.

"There's maybe a bigger game at stake and I think we feel like we'd go in with confidence if we do get to the play-offs with them."

A crowd of more than 10,000 watched Saturday's game and Chicksen added: "It's great. I love playing in front of big crowds. It always gives you the extra emphasis to press, to go and win the ball back, especially as a defender.

"And when you're on top, it gives you that extra bit to go and win the game. So it's great having the fans here and hopefully they keep coming right up to the end of the season."

Notts now have the rare luxury of a full week between fixtures - with a visit to 13th-placed Southend United up next on Saturday (April 2) after what Chicksen admits has been a "tough" run of matches.

"It's been a hell of a couple of weeks with games but for me, that's what I want," he said. "I want to be tested, I want to be pushed to the limits.

"I was trying to get back every game, recover and eat well, but as a team, we need everyone to be able to step in and there have been some great performances from those who have stepped in and stepped up. I'm proud of all the lads in the changing room.

"I've been saying it a lot to myself - just get to these Saturday-Saturday games! But we've also had a great couple of games and we've been winning them, so I say that but if you put another game in front of us and we kept the run going, I'd probably say let's keep going.

"But we've got to enjoy the rest. You've got to rest up, and I think our performance levels on how we play, how we retain the ball, getting back to Saturday-Saturday is going to be a big factor in the run-in."

The 30-year-old Zimbabwe international was making his 24th league appearance of the season for Ian Burchnall's side at the weekend.

He added: "I just appreciate that I'm doing the right work at the club and away from the club, because then I know I'm ready, personally, and I know I'm doing the right things, so when I do come into the team, I can give a level of performance that gives the club exactly what they expect of me and what the fans probably expect of me now.

"If I'm doing that, I know I can go home with a smile on my face and be ready for the chances, and when they do come, hopefully I take them and keep other players out of the team, because that's what I've got to do when I do come in."

All of the Magpies' remaining league fixtures come against teams from outside of the top 10 - but Chicksen knows that performance levels must not drop in order to avoid any unwanted slip-ups.

"It's going to be that consistency and the level of performance and training, if we keep that high enough, those sort of random results don't happen," said Chicksen. "If we keep our levels high enough, we go into those games and we'll win them.

"So we've got to keep our levels high, keep our training high, and then you don't get that drop in performances. So for us, it's about eating right, recovering right, going into these games fully amped and making sure we're up in the performance levels."

Do you think Notts County will be promoted this season? Let us know in the comments section below...

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