PANIC was never going to come into it.

After a really successful couple of months earlier in the season, the Magpies were flying as high as third in League One.

But, when results started to take a turn for the worse, after a long spell in the play-off places, they found themselves quickly in freefall down the table.

While some outside the club might have begun to worry, turning attention from a promotion fight to a potential relegation scrap, those inside were having no such thoughts.

One win in 14 league games might have caused some doom and gloom to creep in, confidence taking a knock.

But press the panic button? Not a chance.

And the hope is victory at Walsall on Tuesday night, a 1-0 win, will not only halt the slide but prove a turning point.

Unfortunately, today's game with Stevenage at Meadow Lane has been postponed due to a frozen pitch.

The decision was taken by local referee David Coote yesterday at 1pm, despite Notts' best efforts with protective covers on the pitch since Monday.

It means the Magpies do not have an immediate chance to build on that success.

And the chance to claw the gap back on Stevenage, who sit in sixth place in the final play-off spot, from eight to five points has gone for now.

Instead, they will now have to wait a further seven days until they travel to Rochdale next Saturday.

But those three points at Walsall, courtesy of an early Lee Hughes strike, did lift Notts back up into the top half of the table, into 11th place, making it look far more rosy.

First-team coach John Schofield said it has always been about the long-term – not getting too carried away, or too down.

With manager Martin Allen arriving just ten months ago, saving Notts from the drop into League Two, it was always going to be about rebuilding.

And Schofield believes had Notts been in the same position, by earning their points on a more consistent basis instead of a really productive spell followed by a lean period, then nobody would every have pointed a negative finger.

For at Meadow Lane, the mood among staff and players is positive with the club looking in one direction – up.

"We are 11th so we are moving along, in a good position and it is a progression we are trying to achieve at the club," he said.

"It is about improvement, doing it gradually and it is about evolution rather than revolution, and that takes time.

"Overall we have been playing well all season.

"There have been spells in games where we have not done so well but overall, over the course of the season, we have been playing good football, creating chances, keeping possession of the ball and getting opportunities in the opposition box.

"That is what we try to do and we do need to convert those chances, as any team does.

"The good thing is everybody is getting chances so we are on the right lines."

One of those poor spells came in the 1-0 FA Cup defeat at Stevenage a week ago, the same club Notts should have met today, this time in league action.

But Schofield believes the Notts players have put that exit behind them, after following it up with victory at Walsall in midweek.

"It was a good overall battling performance and it is always nice to get a clean sheet in any game," he said.

"But to get one away from home and come back with three points is absolutely fantastic.

"We got exactly what we wanted. We had a conversation after the game on Saturday, as we do after every game, and we got a response from the players. Every game we play we look at it, learn from it and have a debrief.

"We pick the things out that we did well, the things we need to improve on and work on them, which we did.

"Over the course of the season we have to make sure we keep picking those points up."

Damion Stewart, on loan from Bristol City, is impressing in the Notts backline, as is right-back Kieron Freeman, on loan from Forest.

But one player who has moved on is Karl Hawley, the striker having joined Crawley Town, chasing promotion from League Two, on loan until the end of the season.

That will not only provide new loanee Jonathan Forte with a bigger opportunity, but potentially free up wages to bring in another striker on loan, which can happen from next week.

"We started the season so well, so you need to bring players in that can affect your team," he said. "Damion and Kieron have done well.

"An opportunity came in for one of our strikers to leave and it was Karl. What that does is gives us an opportunity.

"Jonathan has come in and we have to be seen to make sure we are doing the right thing by the club.

"Karl is a great lad, it is an opportunity for him to get some more regular football and we can reap the benefits of that at some stage this season.

"So overall we are looking to move it forward and keep picking up those points."