Martin Paterson is spending his days chopping trees and his evenings listening to George Strait as he prepares Notts County for one of the most important matches in the club's modern history. The 39-year-old manager guided the world's oldest professional football club to the League Two play-off final at Wembley on 25 May, where they will face Salford City—a victory that marks a crucial step toward returning to League One after 11 years in the lower divisions.
Notts County's path to Wembley required steel and precision. Paterson orchestrated a 1-0 aggregate victory over East Midlands rivals Chesterfield in the semi-finals, including a defensively resolute—if nerve-shredding—goalless draw in Friday night's second leg. For a club trying to rebuild its reputation after four seasons of exile in the National League following relegation from League Two in 2013, this achievement carries profound weight.
The journey back has been arduous. Since dropping out of League One in 2015, Notts County has weathered ownership changes, financial troubles, and the humiliation of non-league football. That makes Monday's final an opportunity to reverse a trajectory that once seemed irreversible. Paterson, in his first full season as manager at Meadow Lane after a brief spell with Burton Albion in 2024, understands both the enormity of the moment and the importance of staying grounded through it. A former striker for Stoke and Huddersfield who played in the Premier League for Burnley, he has learned to manage the weight of expectation through unconventional means.
"I love getting out in the garden, and I just chop stuff down to be honest with you," Paterson told BBC Sport. "I just make jobs for myself to take the mind off the pressure." He plans to spend the coming days gardening with his family, finding solace in small tasks before the biggest week of his managerial career. His soundtrack to this period is uncompromising: George Strait, the legendary American country musician. "The only one," Paterson said simply. "He's a legend."
Yet for all his down-to-earth coping mechanisms, Paterson is not flying blind into this final. He has assembled a network of mentors with genuine pedigree in promotion battles. Former Burnley managers Sean Dyche and Eddie Howe—now Newcastle United manager—are available as sounding boards. Tony Pulis, the Stoke City boss who once managed Paterson as a player, got in touch before Friday's semi-final with pointed wisdom. "The gaffer texted me about clean sheets," Paterson said. It was a reminder that defensive discipline—the very thing that got them through Chesterfield—will be crucial at Wembley.
"I have lots of mentors that I speak to because I don't know everything and I'm not always going to be right," Paterson reflected. "I use a lot of mentors to try and get better and improve and that should be reflected with my team as well. We're always trying to get better."
That ethos of constant improvement will define Notts County's week ahead. The semi-final victory was, as Paterson himself acknowledged, merely "a step on the way." Improvement is still required in certain aspects of their game. But for a club that has endured a decade of decline, that hunger for progress feels like the surest sign yet that restoration is possible.