Harry Kewell has called for Rob Milsom’s replacement to seize their opportunity against Macclesfield Town.
With the midfielder set to miss the next three league matches following his dismissal against Crawley Town, whoever steps in has the chance to nail down a regular place in the starting line-up.
And manager Kewell says he has players that are ready to fill in and has urged them to give him something to think about when Milsom returns.
“Rob will be a huge miss but I have players that are champing at the bit,” said the Australian.
“It gives these players an opportunity to put in a performance that will create doubt in my mind and make me think about changing things.
“I want players fighting and ready to take over a position because that competition is good for footballers – if you have that it brings the best out of them.”
Kewell feels this is particularly evident in his attack where players including Jon Stead and Lewis Alessandra have been excellent in recent matches.
He explained: “I knew how good a player Lewis was before I came to the club and he is working hard and constantly asking questions because he knows he is not irreplaceable.
“It’s similar up front where Jon, Kane [Hemmings] and Enzio [Boldewijn] have been performing so well because they know someone is ready to take their place.
“I was speaking with Kristian Dennis and he told me he is frustrated but he is ready to pounce and he will take his chance, which is why we’re seeing the best out of my other forwards.”
Notts have next weekend off due to their clash with Oldham being postponed and the Australian hopes they'll be going into their break on the back of a positive result at Moss Rose.
“We wanted to beat Crewe and Crawley so it’s been a fantastic week so far and now we need to continue it,” Kewell added.
“If we win then we can take the next weekend to reflect on how we have started and look at any changes we need to make ahead of another difficult block of games.
“I’m hoping we can give the players a chance to refresh and spend some time with their families because that is important too – but it all depends on the result.”