Notts County are rightly amongst the favourites for the League Two title, with their strong summer of recruitment getting better with each passing day.

Yesterday, Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain joined from Portsmouth, a young player full of hunger and looking to develop.

With Kevin Nolan's experience to draw from, you wouldn't bet against him thriving at County.

When the former Bolton midfielder took over, they were at a low ebb, fighting against the drop from League Two having fallen on hard times.

Nolan has turned them around, solidified them tactically and recruited incredibly well.

Last season his side fell away from the automatic promotion race, but there was no rash decisions from the board.

Nolan has owner Alan Harding's complete backing and rightly so.

The pitches of League Two must seem a million miles away from the riches of the Premier League, but Nolan had no hesitation in dropping down to start his managerial career. Whilst Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard have gone straight into big jobs, Nolan is earning his stripes in the right place.

As far back as 2010 there was evidence that Nolan might be cut out for management.

Wayward striker Andy Carroll was ordered to live with Nolan to help settle him down and behave.

When Nolan was given the poisoned Leyton Orient job, his former protégé messaged him congratulations. He clearly has an impression on people.

He's certainly making an impression on the success-starved people of Nottingham, with hope high in the black and white half that this could be their season. Whilst Forest target Premier League riches, the Magpies are on a title quest of their own.

Signing Kristian Dennis and Kane Hemmings is a move aimed at addressing the lack of goals last season.

Nolan has been active in the market, losing Michael O'Connor to Lincoln but doing it with good grace and recruiting the vastly-experienced David Vaughan to replace him.

Ever since walking into Meadow Lane on his first day, Nolan has acted responsibly, calmly and not once given off the air of a top-flight player slumming it.

Whilst players who played against him walk into top jobs without so much as a caretaker role behind them, Nolan is learning the trade at the sharp end, passing his experience on but doubtless learning just as much in return.

The thrashing in last season's FA Cup at the hands of Swansea wasn't a nice thing to experience, but it will serve Nolan well as the knocks and scrapes merely build his experience in the dug out.

Football is every bit as competitive and complex in League Two as anywhere else, the pressures are the same and the dangers are perhaps bigger. Lose a job in the Championship and a League One side might take a chance.

Get sacked in League Two and where do you go? The National League? The Job Centre.

Now, with success a likely outcome this season, he could be showing the others the way to progress in management.

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