Former Notts County forward Mark Stallard believes Macaulay Langstaff has big shoes to fill following the departure of Kyle Wootton this summer.
Langstaff, 25, hit 28 goals in 39 appearances for Gateshead in the National League North last season, with Luke Williams' side swooping in to sign the player for an undisclosed fee last month.
With Wootton departing for recently promoted Stockport County, Stallard believes the job at hand for Langstaff is a tough one, with pressure on the forward to deliver from minute one.
‘’It’s a big ask,'' began the 47-year-old, as he spoke exclusively to NottinghamshireLive. ''When anybody joins a new team, a new club your always compared to an outgoing striker. In the case of Kyle Wootton, it’s somebody who scored 20 goals a season for the last 3 years.
''It wasn’t just Kyle’s goals, it was everything else he produced, Macauley Langstaff is a completely different player. He is going to want to establish himself and utilize his own identity by showing his own style of play. Goals are obviously what strikers are judged by as he got plenty of them at Gateshead and hopefully, he can make the step up and score plenty for Notts this season.’’
With Wootton not the only key departure this summer, Williams has stepped into the hot seat at Meadow Lane, tasked with guiding the side back into the EFL, following Ian Burchnall's departure for now League One outfit Forest Green Rovers.
Having endured a strong start to pre-season in terms of results against higher opposition, Stallard has indicated how new methods and fresh ideas could help the side unlock success, following the play-off heartache they sustained last season.
‘’I imagine there is always going to be changes with a new manager and coach coming in. If the reports are right and he wants Macauley to play inside that six-yard area as a striker, then he is certainly going to have set the team up slightly different to last season because Kyle Wootton was so different,'' added the former Bradford City man.
''He was a back to goal striker, a target man and he would play as a spearhead with players like Ruben [Rodrigues] and Cal [Roberts] playing off him. It’s going to be a different role, so it may shift the team in terms of the way it is set-up, but Luke Williams will have his preferred style of play.
''However with every modern team now they are all flexible and robust so they can utilize different formations and systems. It is down to the players and they have to adapt and that’s what pre-season is all about, getting used to what the manager and coach want from you. You have to do your bit as a player to say ‘look, I want to be in the starting XI’.’’
County have just two more pre-season tests before their National League opener against Maidenhead United on August 6, with Nottingham Forest and York City still to come later this month. Spirits are high in the camp, with Williams look to etch his name in County folklore, by helping the side gain promotion back to the Football League once again this campaign.
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