Notts defender Austin McCann brings us right up to date with the latest banter flying around the dressing room and much more in his monthly Blog entry.

This month Ozzie tells us about the latest pranks, how the Gaffer has got involved in the banter and also speaks about his delight in Scotland's triumph in France, and also Celtic's disappointing few days.

Hi everyone, I'm back for another Blog.

We will start of this Blog, being the proud Scotsman I am, by paying tribute to the Scotland national team for the result away to France the other week. We had to defend for long, long periods of the game but in the end we got the result which was magnificent. I can assure you I was one very proud man walking into the Notts County dressing room the next day, even though England had won the night before as well I was still a very proud Scotsman in an all-English dressing room. I had no-one to celebrate with though, which was a bit sad.

That result set me up for the next week, because I'm a Celtic fan I was all built up for the Champions League which started last week. I got a couple of cans of Diet Coke in and got ready to enjoy the game against Shaktar Donesk; and then we were 2-0 down after eight minutes which ruined the night. Even worse was Rangers going out the next night in Glasgow and winning their opening game which brought me back down to earth with a bump. On Sunday I watched Celtic lose to Hibs on the TV and saw Rangers go top, so it hasn't been great since that Scotland win. I can still see Celtic winning the League though!

Moving back to ourselves now. I have found myself out the team in the last few games, but the Manager has changed the formation back to 4-3-3 and we've not lost since so that is good for the Club, and the win against Dagenham was really important and a point at Rotherham was a welcome one. To be fair we were possibly unlucky not to win it because Spencer Weir-Daley was on fire and he had a few chances which he was unlucky with.

It seems to be coming together a bit more now and the confidence is rising in the camp. Hopefully going into the next few games against Chesterfield and Hereford we can kick on. The Dagenham game wasn't the best performance-wise, but the result matters more than anything and the win was important no matter how we got it. These two games at home are really important, and if we can get four or six points it will push us right up the League. In an ideal world we want to play well and win, but as the season goes on and on I am sure the results will come with the performances. It is a result-driven business at the end of the day and that really is all that matters.

Being on the bench for the last few games and being on the outside looking in, I think Adam Tann has been doing a great job for the team. He was unfortunate over pre-season he didn't get a clean run after picking up a few injuries, but over the last few games I think he has shown to us all what a good player he is, and he has been outstanding.

Away from the football and onto the banter, I've got a few fair stories for you. Firstly, you will all know by now I love to give Lawrie Dudfield a bit of stick - but he well and truly got me stumped earlier in the month. I bought a new TV earlier in the month and Lawrie came round my flat to see me, and within a few minutes the TV kept turning itself off for some reason. I kept switching it back on, but 20 seconds later it kept switching off and I was convinced it was broken. I asked Lawrie if it was him messing about, and straight as anything he denied any involvement the liar that he is. After six or seven times I got the manual out and started looking through it to see what was wrong, but in the end with no joy I rang Samsung up themselves. I was just on the phone complaining when Lawrie burst out into fits of laughter; he had a PDA in his pocket which can turn off an TV anywhere! He well and truly stitched me up there; but it is a long old season and I have plans in motion already to get him back. You'll have to wait until the next Blog though, I am not revealing anything.

He told me the other week he got called back to one of his old schools in Kettering the other week to do a speech, and it turned out to be in front of 700 or so people. I wish I had gone myself and filmed it, because he phoned me afterwards and told me he was hilarious believe it or not. I wish we could get proof, because he reckons he has a career in stand-up comedy on the way.

The banter is really flying about now as well as we get to know each other, and the Card Schools seem to stick together in football clubs and Butch and Mayo are one set - and Butch wound Mayo up good and proper the other day. When we go to ROKO there's a Car Wash outside and Butch told Paul that it was free to all Notts County players, as that's the only way he would use it as he has a reputation for being 'tight-fisted'. Mayo booked in for the full lot inside and out as he thought it was free, and then afterwards he went up to the guy to get his keys and he had to pay up, which was hilarious. He will be looking to get Butch back now.

Readers of the Matchday Magazine will have noticed the 'Off The Cuff' feature where the lads answer random questions, and the other week Silky answered the question 'What annoys you most about the Gaffer?' by saying his hair in a recent edition. Silky is normally a quiet lad but he showed his bravery by putting that, and to be honest I don't think he expected the Gaffer to read it. In the teamtalk before the game the Gaffer was saying how happy he was with the squad and how there were no 'bad apples' in the dressing room??.apart from Silky who will be out the door at the first opportunity he gets and he won't be getting a new contract! It was brilliant, and he went the brightest shade of red I've ever seen. Credit to the Gaffer, he took it in good spirits and joined in.

Also in the last Matchday Magazine myself and Tom got lined up to face each other for a laugh in the Team Vs Terrace, and I think there needs to be an inquiry with regards to the final score. I went first, and Tom went second, and after getting eight out of ten I was buzzing because I thought a few of the questions were tough. I was convinced I would win it, and for Tom to equalise with the same score - I am not having it. I have been told by Les Bradd, who is a Notts County legend in his own right, that Tom was sat in front of the internet as he answered the questions. So, I am not happy with it and because it is printed I have to take it on the chin. Bragging before it probably didn't help, but when Tom phoned me up I was a suspicious and then to find out we both got the same questions wrong was a bit strange, so great minds think alike!

This week sees us with something to look forward to after training. We are doing the Crossbar Challenge after training on Thursday for Soccer AM, so the fans will have to look out for it. We have 'Horsie' making an appearance so it is going to be worth watching. It should be a laugh, although Paul Mayo tells us he has already done it for Lincoln so he will be wearing his t-shirt on Thursday.

Coaching-wise, John Gannon is the best coach I have worked with. His sessions are brilliant and different, bright and bubbly and really interesting. However, last week I think his training was ahead of our abilities. We were doing a passing and shooting exercise in groups of four and I was with Butch, Mayo and Frosty. Butch didn't know if it was New Year or New York and balls were flying everywhere and eventually called our team out because we were terrible. Next time though, hopefully we were a bit better.

Hopefully by the time I've finished my next Blog we will be a bit further up the League and I'll have some banter to talk about - including me getting by own back on Lawrie.

Take care for now and keep getting behind us!

Oz