Notts County manager Kevin Nolan says Andy Kellett will be given his first start for the club at Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.
The Magpies head to the Riverside Stadium to take on the Sky Bet Championship side in the first round of the Carabao Cup.
And Kellett, who suffered with a calf niggle during pre-season but came off the bench to make his Notts debut at Cambridge United on Saturday, will be in the gaffer’s 11.
“This fixture gives some of the boys a really big platform to make a name for themselves and put themselves in my thoughts,” said Nolan.
“We’ll be rotating, like we did last year. We thought it worked very well – we had a lot of success and the lads found it really good.
“There’ll be a good few changes but they'll be ones we feel will help some of the lads get to our first team quicker by exposing them to competitive minutes.
“Also, with us playing on Friday, we’ve got to make sure we manage the squad.”
Andy Kellett made his debut at the Abbey Stadium
The manager also confirmed that Kristian Dennis’ wait for a first-team start will continue, while Ben Hall will miss the trip with a groin injury.
“We’ve got to make sure we don’t throw these lads right in at the deep end and risk losing them for weeks and weeks,” said Nolan. “We’ve got to slowly build them up.
“I know fans want to see these lads straightaway but we’ve got to make sure we do right by then.
“Ben is having a few problems with his groins and we’ve got a duty to Brighton to make sure it doesn’t get any worse. That’s why he wasn’t on the bench at the weekend.
“We’ve got to wrap him up in cotton wool because we want to build relationships with all these top clubs.”
Brighton loanee Ben Hall will have to wait a little longer for his first 2018-19 appearance
Nolan will not only use the Middlesbrough match as a chance to hand extra minutes to those in need.
He’s also looking forward to sampling other styles of play and learning first-hand from an opposition manager he greatly respects.
“We can take opportunities like this to look at different formations because we’ve got a lot of people who can fit into different shapes,” said Nolan. "Hopefully we’ll go there and give a good account of ourselves.
“No matter who Tony Pulis sends out, they’ll have a really good side. They look like a team who are going to be up there.
“I’m really looking forward to picking his brains after the game – seeing what he does and how he does it, which will help me develop as a manager and as a person.”
