"Divided fanbase" - Key Notts County issue revealed involving head coach Stuart Maynard | OneFootball

Football League World's Notts County fan pundit urges Magpies supporters to get behind manager Stuart Maynard

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Notts County are one of the high-flyers in League Two as it currently stands, and right now they occupy an automatic promotion spot a third of the way through the season.

The Magpies are just three points behind league leaders Port Vale, and they have not lost a league game since a defeat at the hands of Darren Moore's men in early October.

Considering the fact this is only County's second season back in the Football League following promotion from the National League in 2023, Stuart Maynard's side are arguably exceeding expectations.

Meanwhile, only Bradford City striker Andy Cook, with eight, has managed more goals than County striker Alassana Jatta's seven in the fourth tier so far this term, showing that the club's decision to invest in the Gambian in January amid an expected departure for Macaulay Langstaff this summer was a really smart play.

Notts County concern outlined regarding Stuart Maynard

Despite being third in the fourth tier standings though, it appears not everyone is fully behind Maynard as County boss.

Amid the Magpies' overall positive season so far, Football League World asked our County fan pundit, Thomas Wagstaff, what the biggest issue at the club was right now, and what the best solution is to fix it, and the apparent divide in the fanbase in relation to the job Maynard is doing is a problem.

"The biggest issue at the club right now, for me, is that not everyone's behind the manager," Thomas told FLW.

"Quite a lot of people are still against Stuart Maynard, (they) don't think he's the right person for the job.

"I disagree massively, but it doesn't usually end too well when there's a divided fanbase.

"The best solution,he is starting to win people around, the best solution is for better results.

"But, I don't know what better results we can hope for because we've got a lot of injuries, and we currently sit joint-third in League Two.

"I think his only real solution is to just keep going, because the closer we get to the end of the season, I know we're very early, in this position, the better for him."

Notts County supporters should get behind Stuart Maynard as their manager

When the Magpies appointed Maynard, there is no doubt that he had big shoes to fill, given the fact that his predecessor was Luke Williams, who had guided the club back to the EFL following an unwanted four-season stint in non-league.

Furthermore, when Williams was appointed by Championship club Swansea City last January, the Magpies sat fifth in League Two, and a second consecutive promotion via the play-offs was looking possible.

However, following the 42-year-old's decision to move to south Wales, County's form took a significant turn for the worse, and they dropped down the standings and finished 14th.

Such developments may have led supporters to believe that Maynard was not the right man to replace Williams, especially given the fact he was appointed from National League Wealdstone - was it too much of a step up?

However, perhaps there is no better advert than WIlliams himself for the fact that managers previously employed in the upper echelons of non-league can more than hold their own in the Football League.

And now he is in charge of the Magpies for his first full-season, Maynard is proving his capabilities, as automatic promotion seems like a real possibility for his side who have not lost a game since early October.

At present, there is nothing to suggest that the 44-year-old is not the right man to take the club forward, so it is now down to the Meadow Lane faithful to get behind the man in the dugout.