Notts County aim to bow out of the regular season in style against York City

York City will be the visitors to Meadow Lane for the final contest of the 46-game season for the travelling Minstermen, interim manager Michael Morton steering York City away from the relegation picture after the disastrous managerial reign of David Webb before him plummeted York down the table.

The Magpies might well have conceded the division title to Wrexham - the Red Dragons winning 3-1 against Boreham Wood clinching what felt like a foregone conclusion for the Welsh powerhouses - but they’ll still be full of confidence for York City’s visit to Nottingham.

Luke Williams’ men dispatched already relegated Maidstone United in their last encounter 5-2, Jim O’Brien the unlikely hat-trick hero from central midfield down in Kent. Magpies fans will hope there will be more of the same on Saturday at Meadow Lane, another contest that simply rains goals from minute one.

Missing out on the title, according to Luke Williams himself, wasn’t a ‘shock’ but he’ll hope any remaining despondent members of the County team are full of energy and life for the visit of Michael Morton’s Minstermen.

Speaking to the Notts County website, Luke Williams asserted that this game does matter and it’s not just a dead rubber before the playoffs commence for his side.

He said: “It matters because we judge ourselves and the players are judged on their performance and the way they behave. They’re judged very harshly on those things.

“Therefore, whenever we take to the training pitch for a game, let alone Meadow Lane, the players will always try to concentrate on the performance level and that will safeguard us. More importantly than that, it matters because we have people coming to the game, thousands of people coming to the game that have supported us in an incredible way.”

The same will ring true for York City, Michael Morton’s travelling side will want to attempt to pull off an unlikely result on Saturday to please the Minstermen supporters after a turbulent campaign.

Ryan Brookes, who watches York City week in and week out, spoke about his side’s season, a campaign that has been characterised by ‘ups and downs’ from a City perspective.

He said: “It has been a season full of countless ups and downs. There was a real feel-good factor around the club after promotion until the change of ownership which saw Glen Henderson take over - it became nasty.

“He made the largely unpopular decision to sack hero manager John Askey, despite having led City to a top-half finish by November. David Webb came in as the replacement with very little experience. His assistant, Michael Morton was then placed in charge for the rest of the season. You would have to give a lot of credit to the manager, who is a lifelong City supporter and a morale boost has been evident while he’s been at the helm.”

The Minstermen secured their safety barring a mathematical miracle in their last National League match, a 2-2 draw versus Aldershot ensuring Michael Morton’s men are all but guaranteed safety unless Luke Williams’ Magpies score a ridiculous amount of goals at their expense.

They’ll be thankful that they don’t have to pull off an upset on Saturday to clinch survival, back-to-back wins over Barnet and Chesterfield at the start of April might well have been the crucial results that gave them breathing distance over the teams languishing at the bottom.

Ryan Brookes is hopeful ahead of York City’s visit to Nottingham, the Minstermen often perform better when they face off against the promotion-chasing teams.

He said: “The fact that City has taken points off every other playoff side this term could be a good motive to go and get a result. I have faith they will perform and give the Magpies a decent game.

“Obviously, the latter (Notts County) won’t want to take too many risks and dive into tackles. I think that will prove to be an advantage for the visitors.”

Luke Williams might well look towards some fringe players for this encounter too, to freshen up his starting eleven before the pandemonium of the playoffs kicks off for the Magpies. As a result, the likes of Ruben Rodrigues might well be rested against the Minstermen for a bench player to get some minutes.

York City has several players that could cause the County all sorts of trouble this weekend. Seasoned professional Mark Ellis is a rock at the back for the Minstermen, he’ll be tasked with stopping Magpies superstar Macaulay Langstaff all match. Shaqai Forde up top for Michael Morton’s away side will hope he can unsettle a rigid County defence, the Watford loanee has netted eight times in 18 appearances this season.

The reverse fixture back in September did see Notts County run out as convincing victors, the 3-1 win at the York Community Stadium came courtesy of two Macaulay Langstaff strikes. Will it be the County’s 33rd win of their campaign when the sides match up on Saturday?

The match will kick-off at 5:30 pm at Meadow Lane, the exact same-kick off time as the Woking game last time out at home for County. This time, however, the match will not be shown live on TV.