Development squad coach Steve Hodge has called upon Notts County fans to get behind his side when they face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Barclay’s Under-21 Premier League Cup.
The Wednesday night fixture (7pm kick-off) is a great opportunity for Magpies’ supporters to take a look at the club’s under-21 players, as the most of their games are played behind closed doors.
County development squad have already overcome Doncaster Rovers and Coventry City in the tournament but face their toughest test yet in the form of Wolves.
Wanderers are an established Under-21 outfit and are highly competitive in the Barclay’s Under-21 Premier League, having beaten the likes of Manchester United, Stoke, Middlesborough and Reading in recent times.
Hodge is expecting a difficult encounter under the Meadow Lane floodlights and hopes that a good home backing can inspire a cup upset.
He told the official site: “We’ve had a difficult season because we’ve played every game away from home, which is hard for us.
“We’ve been to some tough places like Stoke, Derby, Coventry and Sheffield Wednesday and done well.
“We’ve taken a few pastings along the way as well but they’re a good group and they’re doing things right and we’ve seen the likes of Jordan Holt and Ronan Murray have been on the fringes and in the first team.
“At home we can express ourselves a bit and have the backing of our fans for once, because it is tough going away for 14 games on the spin, when you do find that sometimes referees are influenced by the home team.
“It’s our turn to be at home and hopefully things will go our way with the decisions and we can try to get a result.”
He continued: “We know we’re underdogs because they’re a Category One Academy and their team is halfway up the Under-21 league, around the likes of Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal.
“One or two of their players have played in the Football League, like Zeli Ismail who was at MK Dons last year – they’re tasty players.
“We’ll have the likes of Curtis Thompson playing, who has played a few times in the league this season, so experience-wise we’ll have a few players that are decent now and have played at a high standard of football against some good players.
“It should be a real competitive game and we’re hoping to play well, which, if we do and get the ball down and play, I’ll be happy.
“From our point of view, there’s nothing to lose really – it’s an old adage - but we’ll go out onto our pitch full of confidence and if we play well, you never know.”
Tickets for this fixture can be purchased on the Derek Pavis turnstiles and are available at £3 for adults and £1 for concessions.