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BBC News
10-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Notts' defensive gains made 'easy' by team effort
Jacob Bedeau says Notts County's defensive transformation this season has been made "super easy" by the relentless work-rate of the Magpies' prolific conceded more goals than any side in League Two last season, with the 86 they let in making them the third worst defensive side in England's top four as the division's fourth highest scorers ensured they finished remain among the division's top scorers this season, but it is the improvement at the back that has them among the teams chasing five matches remaining they have let in just 40 goals - a record bettered by only two teams in the fourth tier this term."Throughout the season we have been good at pressing teams and playing high-energy football," Bedeau told BBC Radio Nottingham."Maybe last year was one of those where everything goes against you as a defender. You can have those moments where you just can't find the light." Bedeau quickly established himself as an integral part of a largely new-look backline this season alongside fellow summer arrivals Matty Platt, goalkeeper Alex Bass and Lewis Macari, who first moved to Meadow Lane on loan last have so far kept 16 clean sheets this season, double the number they managed in the entirety of last have also allowed only one shot on target in their past four matches, although it resulted in a goal in their defeat at Colchester last Saturday."We are in it together as a back three and the rest of the team feels assured with us back there," Bedeau the 25-year-old, who was on the books at Aston Villa as a teenager, says the backline cannot take all the credit for how the Magpies have gone from being the most fragile defence in League Two into the one of the most has particular praise for forwards Alassana Jatta and David McGoldrick, who have 35 goals between them in all competitions this term."It's the whole team really," Bedeau said. "The work-rate that AJ and Didzy show week in and week out with that press, and the midfielders backing them up, basically means our job is super easy compared to where I have been in the past."The goal this season was to keep 16 clean sheets and we have 16 now, so we are just looking to get maybe 18 or 20 so we have to keep trying to do what we are doing as a defensive unit and as a whole team."
BBC News
14-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Will feel benefits down the line' - Hodge on warm-weather training
Former Forest midfielder Steve Hodge believes Nuno Espirito Santo and his players will "feel the benefits down the line" from their mid-season warm-weather training trip to was part of regular mid-season trips while playing for Forest in the 1980s under Brian Clough but joked on the latest episode of Shut Up and Show More Football: "We didn't see a football pitch - we just saw a bar!".Nuno said the trip helped develop a "tight bond" between his squad as they prepare for a crucial stage of the season in their bid to qualify for European football."The players have been around Nottingham, the City Ground, and have been travelling on coaches to games for the past seven, eight months," Hodge told BBC Radio Nottingham."There is a monotony about it. It's a great life but there is that sameness every trip, on the same bus with the same routine so it's good to get out in the sunshine. "We haven't seen the sun here for a few months so everyone wants to get in that and feel that on your back and get in the swimming pool. You lose that mental pressure of having to perform and be at it every game. "As great as we have been this season and how much the players have loved it, there is still pressure and that will ramp up now we're in that top four or five and there is a chance for Europe. "You do feel the benefits down the line - when the going gets tough you still feel pretty fresh. Mentally, you just feel you have more to give as the season progresses. "It always worked for us. We loved it. The only conversation we had after getting knocked out of the FA Cup early was knowing we'd be in Cala Millor in 48 hours. "It was not quite Dubai - the guys go out there, they're training every day and they're super fit. We didn't see a football pitch - we just saw a bar!"Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds
