Notts County must ‘adapt’ to be successful in League Two – club’s Zimbabwean defender warns

By nottinghampost.com

Adam Chicksen has warned his Notts County teammates against naivety as they move up to League Two, saying the team must “adapt” their game in order to be successful.

The 31-year-old played a big role in the Magpies team that blew many teams out of the water in the National League last season, as the club secured their return to the Football League via the play-offs after narrowly missing out on the top spot.

However, the former Zimbabwe international is not expecting County to be allowed to play the same way they did last term by most teams in League Two and manager Luke Williams’ efforts to add more to the team reflect that concern.

“You don’t just step up a league and keep doing the same things,” said Chicksen to BBC Radio Nottingham. “You’d be naive to think that. We have to get better and we’re doing that.

“You’d expect teams to come at you a bit more at the start of the season because everyone wants to be at the top. But we’re never going to shy away from trying to dominate the ball. We have to earn respect early in the season and hopefully, we can do that.

“We have to adapt. The gaffer [Luke Williams] is pushing us further, adding more in, being more creative and getting us to the next level.” Chicksen believes there are certain aspects of the game that Notts will have to be better in to compete with the best teams in the fourth tier. Williams has tried to add more quality with his four additions to the team this summer, and adaptation will be key in every sense.

“The output will be similar but the level of smart players goes up. The IQ goes up the more levels you go up,” Chicksen added.

“The timings of runs, the decisions of passes – the smartness of the whole gameplan rises because each level brings a different level of competition, with smarter ways to try to disrupt what you’re trying to do.

“That keeps the evolution of what we’re trying to do higher – we have to get better, we can never do exactly the same because we wouldn’t show any improvement.” The Notts defender signed a new two-year deal this summer to commit his future with the club, and he believes there is nowhere better to cement his “legacy” as a player than at Meadow Lane.

He explained: “You think there’s always something better. Sometimes you think ‘where can I make a legacy?’ and be proud of it when you finish.

“I was lucky and got that realisation before it was all over. I’ve found a great club with great people, with something good in front of me, rather than moving on and moving on and then your career’s over. So to get promotion and, hopefully, more promotions and still have time on my side is a great feeling.”