Manager Shaun Derry admitted that he would have been happy with seven points over the last week and was thrilled to see his side overcome his own expectations.
Many had written off the Magpies' hopes of Sky Bet League 1 survival ahead of last weekend's clash with Carlisle United but a perfect week has lifted the team out of the relegation zone on goal difference.
Back-to-back wins over Carlisle and Crewe Alexandra were followed up by another important victory against Colchester United on Saturday afternoon and The Great Escape has really gathered some momentum.
"If I'm honest, I was hoping for seven points but to get the nine was fantastic," said Derry.
"We're still right in the middle of the muck and we've got to continue delivering performances like we have in the last three games.
"We've made the right decisions 95 per cent of the time and that's why we've won the games.
"I do want to keep this run going and I've said more than once that we need to have back-to-back wins - more than one back-to-back win as well.
"We need to make sure that we back these nine points up with another important performance."
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