Should Ian Burchnall lead Notts County a step closer to the Football League with victory against Grimsby Town on Monday night, then he will no doubt want to thank an unlikely source of intelligence.
Having embarked on a recent mission to go "undercover" at their play-off quarter-final opponents earlier this month, he learned more in a taxi than he did from watching their 1-0 win over Boreham Wood. "The goalkeeping coach Tom Weal and I came back on the last train and one of the guys who got on was a Grimsby fan living in Nottingham," explains Notts' head coach.
"He was a student but there was also a guy who looked a little worse for wear. Not long after the train took off, he has fallen and clearly hurt himself. The stewards had to ring an ambulance but there was a two-hour wait so they suggested the student, Tom and I all get a taxi back.
