Ian Burchnall dismisses Bradford City job link as Notts County put week of turmoil behind them

It is to the credit of Ian Burchnall, his coaching team and his players that they put another week of turmoil behind them to extend their winning run to three games with a 2-0 victory over Eastleigh at Meadow Lane on Saturday.

It is not difficult to imagine the frustration aboard the team bus on Tuesday as they made their way home from yet another long-haul away trip without kicking a ball.

The whys and wherefores of the decision to postpone the game at Dover for the second time - the match also fell victim to the elements on its original date - will be for those behind the scenes to discuss and resolve. And while, correctly, much of the sympathy in both cases went to the Notts fans who had again committed time and money to make the lengthy trip, the effect on Burchnall and his players should not be underestimated.

While they were left to rue another week of disruption, not just to the fixture list but also training and game preparation, promotion rivals were taking full advantage, with Stockport winning at Bromley in midweek to extend their lead at the top of the National League and in-form Boreham Wood beating Altrincham to move into the top three, where they remain despite a surprise 2-0 defeat at Maidenhead on Saturday.

If the head coach had glanced at the table when he woke up on Wednesday morning it would not have made pleasant viewing, with Notts in ninth place and, even with games in hand on many of the teams above them, facing a massive task to achieve their goal for the season of automatic promotion to the Football League by finishing top and avoiding the agony of the play-offs.

However, while Notts’ chances of overhauling the top teams between now and May have been written off by many, Burchnall is not among