Notts County boss Luke Williams believes his side have grown up in recent weeks as they continue to impress in League Two.
The Magpies earned their third victory of the season thanks to goals from David McGoldrick and Connell Rawlinson before Josh Hawkes pulled one back late on.
And Williams explained that if they can keep up the momentum they have gained over the coming weeks, that his side will enjoy a good season back in the EFL.
He said: “The group have grown up a lot, I really do mean that.
“I think I have probably never witnessed as a group to that level and they are taking their work more seriously than ever before.
“If we can maintain that level, then I think we can look forward to a decent season and play a lot of good football – but that is the challenge now.”
The hosts had to finish the game with 10 men however as Cedwyn Scott was forced off through injury with Notts having already made all five substitutions.
“He felt something in his knee and another guy that tried to play on, he must have been in agony,” Williams explained on the result of Scott’s injury.
“We have to wait for everything to settle down to some extent before we can try and examine what is going on inside of there.
“Hopefully it’s less serious than we anticipate, but it’s very upsetting for us and the team.”
Tranmere boss Ian Dawes felt the result could have gone either way, but agreed the overall outcome of the contest was a fair result.
The visitors had great chances in both halves, with Kieron Morris unable to test Aidan Stone in the first half before Tom Davies rattled the crossbar in the closing stages.
“It was a fair result, but you can’t moan about luck and things like that,” Dawes said.
“Their first goal, it has ricocheted lovely for McGoldrick, but that happens and we have to get on with it.
“We have to stay compact. We had good chances in the first half and we have to take them.
“We knew that we would not get as many today and we had to take our opportunities in the second half.
“I thought we started the second really well but again, we kept turning the ball over and they had a spell of around five minutes when they really put pressure on us and scored the second goal.
“It’s then about trying to change that and getting back in the game, we did but when we changed it, we left gaps open and – on another day – the result could have been different.”
Serie A side Genoa confirm sacking of head coach Gilardino
Serie A side Genoa have confirmed the departure of their head coach Alberto Gilardino, with Patrick Vieira reportedly on his way in.
Gilardino, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, leaves the club with them sitting just one point above the relegation size with 10 points from 12 matches this season.
A former striker who played for clubs including Genoa, Parma, AC Milan and Fiorentina, Gilardino took charge of Genoa in 2022 and helped them earn promotion to the top division before a 11th-place finish during the 2023-24 season.
"The club thanks Gilardino for the goals achieved together over the years and wishes him the best for his career," Genoa said in a statement.
The 42-year-old saw his side salvage a late 1-1 draw against Cesc Fabregas' Como in their last match before the international break.
Genoa were also knocked out of the Coppa Italia in the second round following a defeat to Sampdoria on penalties in September.
Arsenal legend Vieira is set to replace him, according to multiple reports.
The former France midfielder has been out of work since leaving Strasbourg by mutual consent in July.
Doncic backs Mbappe to turn fortunes around at Real Madrid
NBA superstar Luka Doncic has backed Kylian Mbappe to "figure it out" after his underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 16 games for Madrid in all competitions since joining as a free agent following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
He has gone four matches without a goal – a run that includes losses to Barcelona and Milan – and has been left out of France's latest squad.
However, Dallas Mavericks guard Doncic – a Real Madrid supporter due to his previous ties with the sports club – can see Mbappe turning things around.
"Obviously [their season] could be better," Doncic told Managing Madrid after the Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
"But when you get a guy like Mbappe, it takes some time to get used to it. We'll figure it out."
Mbappe has scored six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances for Madrid but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
The forward is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes for PSG in his last of seven seasons in Paris.
Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last time out in the league to return to winning ways but still trail leaders Barcelona by six points.
Asked about his connections with Madrid, former Los Blancos basketball player Doncic said: "I follow Real Madrid every time.
"I grew up there. They taught me everything, so it's a part of my life. You can call it a secondary home.
"I learned a lot of stuff there and, especially, they gave me a way to be here right now [in Dallas]. I always appreciate that 100%."
Madrid return to action after the international break with a trip to Leganes on Sunday.
Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona: Guijarro brace sets visitors up for Clasico glory
Patri Guijarro's first-half brace set Barcelona on their way to a thumping 4-0 win over rivals Real Madrid in Liga F on Saturday.
Claudia Pina and Alexia Putellas were also on target as Barcelona continued their perfect start to the season, extending their lead at the top of the table.
The visitors dominated from the off, as Guijarro broke the deadlock inside the fourth minute, tapping in from Putellas' flick-on from a corner.
Cata Coll was forced into a big save to deny Alba Redondo an equaliser shortly after, but Madrid's hope was soon dented as Guijarro picked out the bottom corner with a superb long-range strike for her second.
Pina strengthened their lead six minutes before the break, clinically slotting past Misa with her low strike.
Putellas added some more gloss to the scoreline with four minutes remaining of normal time, beating the Madrid keeper with a lovely dink to bring up her 199th goal for the club.
Barcelona have won all 10 of their games, and now sit eight points clear of Madrid, who suffered their first league defeat of the campaign.
Data Debrief: Total dominance
Madrid will have felt fairly confident coming into this game after a strong start to their season, but they once again failed to find a way past their Clasico rival.
Los Blancos have lost every single game they have played against Barcelona in all competitions, with this their 15th such meeting.
Barcelona smothered their attack early on, restricting their hosts to just one shot in the first half, while they had 10.
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