Stuart Maynard was in his truck when he received the call that he would always change his life.
During the previous three years, Maynard had been balancing to be a manager of Wealdstone in the National League with his other role, as a senior engineer in BT.
The excellent criticisms became the 44 -year -old while repeatedly surpassed with the stones, which at that time were one of the only two part -time clubs that were left at the upper level of non -light football, and there were muttering of interest in interest in interest in Your EFL equipment services for some time.
When the call arrived, it was the president of Wealdstone, Rory Fitzgerald, informing him that the notts team of League Dos de la Liga Dos had made an approach.
“It happened very fast,” says Maynard Mail sport. 'In the 24 -hour space we were in Notts County gathering the owners and the soccer director and signature.
'From the moment I stopped playing, I always wanted to enter the administration and turn it into a full -time job. So I could never reject the opportunity, especially after talking with the owners.
Stuart Maynard has led Netts county to the second in league two, seven points out of the top
The 44 -year -old was a player who is not the league and assistant coach until he had his opportunity in 2021
Maynard was apprentice in Watford, and after a brief judgment on the Dutch side Groningen spent her 12 -year -old player in the non -league. It was not 2 of the Chief of Barnet, Dean Brennan, in four clubs for nine years until his great opportunity arrived in Wealdstone in February 2021.
During that time, Maynard accumulated 19 years of experience fixing WiFi boxes for BT, but now I was assuming a completely different challenge.
Given the dangerous nature of football management, were they ever doubts?
“It was a difficult decision with my wife and daughter,” says Maynard, who was saved from having to fulfill a period of notification by BT. 'My daughter is going through her GCSE, but it was a decision that we always knew that it would be taken And my wife knew that I had always wanted to go full time.
“You are moving away from a pension, and BT is almost known as a work for life, but I always backed me if the opportunity seized and tried.”
Little more than a year later and Maynard's belief in his ability has been worth it, with the county, which are owned by Christoffer and Alexander Reedtz, the Danish brothers behind the statistical company of Football Football Analysis of Football, Second in League Dos, hunting the leaders who had threatened to flee with the division. Seven points feel with a game in hand.
Last Saturday's victory over Morecambe was his fifth in six games and the mood at the world's oldest football club is buoyant, although it was not always the case.
When Maynard arrived last January, Notts was sixth, but his search for a second successive promotion had stagnated after nine losses in 15 games. And it turned out to be an turbulent introduction to full -time football for Maynard, since the impulse of the Magpies for the League one continued to crumble.
Maynard rebuilt the defense of the county and has made them an extremely solid outfit
A streak of five victories and 11 losses of their 19 remaining games saw them wandering until 14th place and the new manager already faced pressure, with 'Maynard Out' banners in the crowd.
“It was difficult to get when we take the job,” he adds. 'They had been in a bad race, but they were still in a very good league position.
'From the outside looking at the position of the league, even fans to some extent, you are thinking that we should be there and stay there. But on the defensive we were not good enough to face and we knew we had to get to summer and reorganize.
Maynard knew that something had to change and, despite losing the talisman Macaulay Langstaff, labeled with the 'Haaland No League' after scoring 71 goals in 96 games for the club, he underwent an aggressive recruitment campaign in the low season .
Fourteen players were brought, including a new goalkeeper in Alex Bass from Sunderland. This has helped Maynard convert what was the most fleeting defense of League Dos in the second most useless this time, with the 12 clean sheets of instrumental Bass for transformation.
Instead of trusting Langstaff, who has scored only once in the championship with Millwall since he joined last summer, the goals have shared more this season, led by the Gambiano International of Aassana Jatta (17 goals) and the Perenne David McGoldrick (13), still shoots them at 37.
The target of the latter to put the 2-0 county in Gillingham earlier this month is a penal area.
Maynard's passion and detail attention, which adopts an approach with a vision of the future with a key approach to the data, is evident throughout our conversation.
Gambia Alassana Jatta striker has scored 17 goals this season for the promotion promotion promotion
David McGoldrick continues to find the network regularly at the age of 37, reaching 13 so far this term
The County head cites Graham Taylor, who was Watford manager when Maynard made his way as a player, and Kenny Jackett as his training inspirations, while he is anxious to take everything he can of the best managers in the game.
Maynard's free flow style implemented in Wealdstone has been replicated in Midlands, but there is also an approach to being unpredictable and continuously evolving.
And, above all, he is enjoying the opportunity to do what he loves with more time and support.
“When I was in Wealdstone, if we entered at three in the morning after a game, I was in six to go to work,” he explains. 'I had to plan the year around booking annual licenses on different days for matches and training, so it was very complicated, but BT was as supportive as they could.
“We used to help the boys individually, but it was very difficult with the limited time we had, since everything was based on trying to improve as a collective.”
Under Maynard, Wealdstone competed often overcame larger clubs, while playing attractive football and based on possession with a limited budget.
In his first full season, he helped them 16th in the National League in 2022, the highest end of the club for 36 years. But he did not stop there and the season after they were briefly higher before establishing themselves in the intermediate trend.
“I believed in style,” he says. 'We could not face if we faced face to face with some of these clubs that signed better players with better physical attributes and athletics, as well as full -time training.
Macaulay Langstaff's movement to Millwall was a great blow, but county players share the goals
The county is pressing to return to the third level for the first time in 10 years
“Sometimes we made individual mistakes in which the boys were probably not as good as the ones they faced, but the group closed the gap very well.”
Although Maynard seems destined to continue progressing in the game, for now its approach focuses on the clash of promotion rivals on Thursday night, Port Vale, with the Darren Moore team only four points behind his team.
An eight -game race begins during the next month, what Notts Hope establishes them on its way to the promotion, and a return to the third level after a decade.
“In the preseason we establish a total of points that we have maintained internally,” he says. 'We believe that if we get to that we will succeed this season, which is trying to be promoted.
'The division as a whole has become much harder and I think that is why it is so tight at this time. Walsall has probably been the most consistent and that is why they are clear and then there is a package of us behind that we all fight in it and its surroundings.
“Everything will go to the cable this season.”
Who would be a manager?
When Derby announced that they had fired Chief Paul Warne last Friday after eight successive losses, his dismissal again focused on the dangerous whose dangerous is the football management industry.
Warne's dismissal means that the Rams will be the 32nd club in 92 to change their boss since the season began, while only 40 coaches have been in their role for more than 12 months.
Paul Warne's departure made Derby already club 32 in the four main divisions to say goodbye to his manager this season
And do not expect the rotation to decrease the speed in the short term, with the Warne replacement that will probably be announced imminently when John Eustace changes an impulse of play-off with Blackburn for a battle of descent with the Rams.
In total, only 21 of the 92 managers have been at work for more than two years, although Simon Weaver by Harrogate Town is a brilliant light of the longevity at the top of the tree with 15 monumental years and 264 days in charge.
Crawley's steady luck finally revolves
It has not been very fun to support Crawley this season, with League One side on the table after the promotion of last season.
They have also seen manager Scott Lindsay leave MK Dons, while several key players have been appreciated.
Junior Quitarna celebrates that I do it 2-1 on Tuesday night when Crawley finally found a way to win
But, the Rob Elliott team has been at the receiving end of a notable bad luck, with the 4-3 defeat on Saturday in Bolton arriving through a 99-minute goal when Crawley showed a 3-1 advantage of 3-1 .
That loss occurred in the midst of other surprising results, including a 4-4 draw with their fighters from Exeter fighters, after having 4-1, while admitting four late goals to lose 5-3 against Shrewsbury descent rivals in October .
And he doesn't stop there. They have lost 4-3 against Peterborough in the League, 4-3 against Lincoln in the second round of the FA Cup and, thanks to a 96-minute goal, 4-3 to AFC Wimbledon in the EFL trophy.
Therefore, it was appropriate that they lit their impulse of survival with an impressive 3-1 victory against Stevenage on Tuesday night after goals in the 87th and 94th minute.