Notts County Assistant Manager John Gannon's reaction to the 2-1 friendly reverse against Nottingham Forest on Monday evening was that despite the defeat, Notts showed signs of improvement in the game after a tough opening.

The first twenty minutes saw Forest in complete control, but they only had a scrambled Luke Chambers effort to show for their pressure and Notts hit back through Neil MacKenzie before the break - only for Chambers to bag another late on to secure a win for Forest.

Two goals conceded from set-pieces was obviously a cause for concern for the Magpies, although with a number of substitutions during the second half Gannon felt no blame could be attached to the players for the concession of the winning goal.

"I thought Forest were very, very good in the first twenty minutes," said Gannon after the game.

"I didn't think we were quite as well organised as we would have liked to have been, and possibly not at the races.

"As the game progressed we got better and for the majority of the second period I thought we dominated the game.

"When you make eight or nine changes it is difficult to organise for corners and we had that problem with the second goal, and unfortunately both goals came from corners.

"The first one was one that Kevin Pilkington had in his hands and then dropped, where as the second with a lot of changes I don't blame the players because it is more circumstance rather than anything with a lot of changes."

Gannon felt the Notts players dug deep to have an influence on the game and dominate the majority of the second half without finding that goal to get in front.

"I think the midfield was much better in the second half and we showed signs of improvement from the first half," he explained.

"We dominated the second half but we just couldn't find that goal we needed to go in front.

"We made it difficult for Forest to play in the second half, and there were positives out there. We showed good pressure and willingness to score with our goal, and we began to have an influence on the game.

"We just needed to turn that into a goal, but I am sure with the final game at Tamworth on Saturday we can work on a few more things.

"As a result of the rain we lost a pre-season game last week so it was a good chance to have a workout and we were pleased."

Gannon's full post-match interview can be heard by Magpie World subscribers right now, with a five-minute interview now streaming live. Post-match reaction from Richard Butcher will follow here on nottscountyfc.co.uk.