Luke Williams explains 'disappointment' at Notts…

Luke Williams explains 'disappointment' at Notts County League One double-header

Notts County manager Luke Williams vented his disappointment at his side's performances in the pre-season double header with Cambridge United on Saturday.

Williams saw his side take on the League One outfit in two 70-minute games on Saturday as preparations for the 2022/23 National League campaign continued.

Sam Smith netted a brace for the hosts in the first game to hand Mark Bonner's side victory but Notts were on the winning side in the following contest courtesy of a hat-trick from summer signing Macaulay Langstaff.

Harvey Knibbs put the U's ahead with two clinical finishes early in the game. However, Williams' XI including Aden Chicksen, Jim O'Brien and Frank Vincent recovered well to earn the victory thanks to Langstaff.

The former Gateshead striker completed a perfect hat-trick one minute before the hour mark when he latched onto Cal Roberts' header to turn the game around on its head. The victory means the Magpies have won four of their friendly fixtures this summer.

Despite the impressive turnaround at St Neots Town, Williams did not hide his frustrations at the performances against Cambridge. Asked how he assessed the two performances, Williams said: "In the first period we started the game very well. We started the game well and managed to control.

"I was disappointed we didn't do that well enough. When we did get into good positions, we made the wrong decision, I was disappointed with that. It felt like Cambridge were brave, they pressed us and we got into a rut.

"We needed to play quicker through the press. I was very disappointed with that. We seemed to keep making the same mistake. In the second game, I was very disappointed with the beginning because Cambridge came out very aggressive and they pressed us.

"We played very slowly, very predictable, we're trying to play out against a ridiculously heavy press. So I was very disappointed. The second period of the second game, they got to grips of things more, they found a rhythm and were able to put some good actions together.

"Defensively it was very difficult because there were lots of mismatches on the pitch, there were a lot of guys that are playing at a good level of League One football. They're very well conditioned, they have good strength and power and they're able to get away from some of our guys, so that made it extremely difficult. Couple of periods there that I thought were very disappointing."

The Magpies have three more friendly fixtures to contend with before they welcome Maidenhead United to Meadow Lane on the opening day of the National League season. Trips to Boston United and York City sandwich the visit of Premier League newcomers Nottingham Forest.

With plenty of work to do ahead of the opening game of the season, Williams wants his side to use the rest of pre-season wisely. He added: "As long as we use the time and we don't accept things and put it down to something else.

"It was a performance issue, a lot of it. Some of it was a quality thing and opponents that were better. But the bits that were down to performance, we need to drill down and work on that.

"We're going to train twice a day, regardless of the heat because we need to improve. We're going to be training in the heat and taking precautions to make sure everyone's hydrated and that we have breaks to try and cool the players down as much as we can. Ultimately, we need to get on with it and we need to try and improve"

First game XI: Slocombe; Cameron, Baldwin, Bajrami; Nemane, Munakandafa; France, Trialist, McGregor, Austin; Mitchell.

Second game XI: Brooks; Chicksen, Mahovo, Brindley; Taylor, Adebayo-Rowling; O'Brien, Palmer, Vincent, Roberts; Langstaff.

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