Harry Kewell says the second-half performance in the 2-1 win against Crewe is the best he’s seen from his side since taking over.
Notts went into the break level after Rob Milsom’s first goal since returning to the club was cancelled out by Jordan Bowery, but Elliott Hewitt netted the winner midway through the second period.
And the display after the interval is exactly what the manager wanted to see.
“That was the best 45 minutes I’ve seen my team play,” said Kewell.
“We were aggressive, winning second balls, playing predominantly in their half and forced them to pass backwards and we got on to the front foot.
“They were causing us problems in the first half but we changed things at the break and I felt we dominated afterwards.”
Kewell is thrilled with the result but feels recent performances had given him faith that the win was coming.
“It’s a big relief but let’s not take away from our hard work over the last couple of weeks because those displays showed we are progressing,” he explained.
“To get the result against Stevenage and to follow that up with a clean sheet at Northampton was good, so to be able to come here and work hard for the three points is fantastic.
“We’ve got to enjoy these moments because things can turn around quickly in this league but then we have to get our heads right for another game on Tuesday.”
The gaffer paid tribute to scorers Milsom and Hewitt for sharing the burden of his strikers.
Kewell added: “If your forwards are holding it up well and working the defenders but unable to find the net then you need someone else to chip in.
“We started the first half well and you want players to get on the edge of the box for a knockdown from the striker and Rob got his rewards.
“Elliott is a tall player who we felt could tower over the Crewe defenders if we got him in at the back stick – Cedric Evina found him with a great delivery which he guided back across goal fantastically.”