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Notts County

struggled to avoid relegation Champions League in May, but are now in fourth place unusually relaxed Allen Martin

You can not see many tie-dye T-shirts to be used by the Trent or listen to Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow car radio blaring in the south-east of Nottingham, but there are some hippie atmosphere growing around Meadow Lane. Martin Allen gave a long laugh when asked exactly how luck turned around Notts County, "laugh, smile, enjoy every day we get to work, very positive ... We support and care for all our players. "

would be an exaggeration to suggest that the county has flower power your way through the fourth in the Premier League table in the decision, but Allen has changed the mood. Laughter and smiles were rare, when the new director arrived in April. County had lost seven on the bounce, the bitter end of a poor race that began in January when the club was sitting comfortably in the middle of the table. The new director could not stop falling, leaving two losses staring at the barrel County - 22 and deep into the mud of descent with five games remaining. The power of positive thinking and kicking in a portion of Allen successive win games away to Tranmere Rovers and Swindon Town and pick up eight points in the final quintet of accessories (as many as they had obtained from the last 17) to keep the Magpies in the skin of their beaks.

then enter the new season expectations were vague, unlike the hair over the past 60 years is not high. "Not too far from the issue to see what drives us towards the middle of the table this year," wrote the blogger Stuart brothers Notts County in the pre-season preview, prediction with a couple of IFS and certain qualified another as long as-a. But while six of seven in the Champions League are the preseason favorite - Charlton Athletic, Huddersfield Town, MK Dons, Preston North End and the two Sheffield clubs - floating along very well in fourth place, just three points lead, was Notts County.

Allen admits he was a surprise even to him - "By bringing so many players and just avoid relegation at the end of last season, to be where we are now ... I have to pinch myself "- but he attributes to" hiring outstanding player "in the summer and since then, and how players have taken their methods

"I think they have, even those not playing," he said. "Of course, you will not be happy without playing, but I was honest with them, I been honest with them, treat everyone exactly the same, there is no star and the treatment of the most important thing is that everyone wants the ball and the game. Thus, in the field that we play good football and off the field, believe it or not, there are no rules or guidelines for the fault or negligence. In the past, I always fined or players has always been a code of conduct or a rule book saying what can and can not do. Do not have one. These people are men. I do not treat them like children.

A pre-season spell with the army, says Allen, was decisive. But it was not the standard program of assault course, route marches and mud rushes. "We have the players for a week for the army and, with coaches and teachers of the army, he worked on ethics and how they do their work was too much work -. It is mental, not physical, it was not beastings and be horrible - who worked on team building, bonding, motivation, communication, and that's really where it all comes from "

"communication" was the keyword in the Meadow Lane since the arrival of Allen. Regular visitors to the club's official website will be familiar with "Message Manager" regular articles - informal first-person pieces directly address Allen's supporters club. The day we spoke three director positions had already been published on the site, dealing with issues as diverse as the first professional contract with a young, speculation on the future of midfielder Ricky Ravenhill and the bazaar next week.

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