Midfielder upset by Notts flop

NEAL Bishop did not pull any punches after the Magpies' first home league defeat of the season, and blasted: "It was not good enough."

The tough-tackling midfielder skippered the side once again in the 2-1 loss to Accrington, as club captain John Thompson was named on the substitutes' bench on his return from a one-game ban.

And he said: "It's hard for me to say it but we got what we deserved.

"The minimum we should do is compete in a game but we were out-battled all over the pitch, and we cannot accept that at home.

"To lose our unbeaten record so flimsily is not good enough."

Bishop said Hans Backe told the players their performance was poor in the dressing-room after the game.

He added: "He said we looked nervy. We are not going to perform brilliantly in every game, but the disappointing thing is that we didn't compete for 90 minutes.

"I'm not sure what was wrong but our work-rate wasn't good enough and our passing game never got started.

"We've got to bounce back at Bournemouth and get our season back on track."

After Michael Symes and James Ryan put Accrington into a 2-0 lead, Lee Hughes scored from the penalty spot to give Notts hope of a fight-back.

"It gives you confidence when you see Hughesy with the ball," said Bishop.

"I was ready to run back to the halfway line before he took it because I knew he was going to put it away."

Bishop expressed his delight Sven-Goran Eriksson looks set to stay at Meadow Lane as director of football, following the management buyout by Peter Trembling.

"Sven is staying - and that's massive," he said.

"Mr Eriksson is director of football here and he is vital to the club, he is at the heart of what we are trying to do.

"He's a worldwide figure in football, everyone knows him, and we are lucky to have him.

"Sven knows the game inside out and we're delighted that everything has been sorted out off the pitch."