NOTTS County have drawn with Premier League Stoke City and beaten Cardiff City, who were defeated in last season's Championship play-off final, in their two significant pre-season friendlies.

But manager Craig Short is not getting carried away.

The Magpies host another Championship club, Sheffield United, at Meadow Lane tonight (7.45pm).

Short, who ended his playing career with the Blades only three years ago, is quite clear about the game's significance, coming just 11 days before Notts' first game of the season in League One against Huddersfield Town.

"This game will reaffirm what I want to do in that first game," he said. "I'm already pretty close to knowing my team but I still have to make a few decisions.

"The players know there is fierce competition for places in the team and no one is guaranteed to be in it."

No one except, perhaps, Lee Hughes. He is the Magpies' talisman and scored his first goals of pre-season to inspire an impressive, and richly deserved, 2-1 victory against Cardiff three days ago.

Short is hugely encouraged with the 34-year-old's fitness and finishing, and believes his partnership with Ben Burgess, one of the high-profile arrivals at Meadow Lane this summer, will produce a lot of goals.

"Hughes has scored goals throughout his career and he will continue to do so. His finishing is exceptional," added Short.

"The other day in training, our goalkeepers never made a save against him. He is so good.

"His fitness levels are good, too. He's 34 now but he's pushed himself during pre-season and it is paying off. He works hard for the team.

"He will be the main focus of defenders this season because of his reputation, but Ben will take a bit of pressure off him, which is important.

"I was impressed with Ben against Cardiff. He caused them problems in the air with his physical presence.

"He's getting his fitness now as well and is becoming stronger and stronger.

"He's got good feet, he's aware of players around him and brings them into play all of the time.

"He had a couple of chances to score, and he played a great pass into Jon Harley for Hughes' second goal."

If Short has already decided to partner Hughes and Burgess in attack when the league season gets underway, he has a welcome headache over other positions in the team because of the form of all of the Magpies' players during pre-season.

Rob Burch will play in goal tonight after Stuart Nelson was given the full 90 minutes to impress against Cardiff, and did so. In central defence, Short has to choose between Graeme Lee, Mike Edwards, Krystian Pearce and Liam Chilvers, who Short praised after his performance against Cardiff just a day after moving to Meadow Lane on a two-year deal.

"He had not even trained with the boys before he played, but he came in and did well," he said.

"He's a seven-out-of-ten player every week, and if we get that we will be very happy."

Neal Bishop, Ricky Ravenhill and new signing John Spicer are vying for two places in central midfield too.

"I've been impressed with them all since I came here. They are a great set of players," said Short.

"They are honest and they have got a lot of ability. We are organised at the back and we have got goalscorers as well.

"We did very well to beat a side that was one step away from the Premier League last season. It is coming together well, but we are not going to get carried away.

"We will take a bit of confidence from it because we have shown we are decent against two teams from a higher level, but that's it. We have another test tonight."