Crawley Town vs Notts County - Chris Atkinson in line for Crawley debut against Notts County

Posted Friday, January 15, 2016 by PA

Chris Atkinson could make his Crawley debut when they host Notts County in League Two on Saturday.

The midfielder arrived on a month's loan from Crewe and goes straight into manager Mark Yates' squad.

His arrival was partly a consequence of the loss, to a broken foot, of Jimmy Smith, who remains sidelined.

Joe McNerney, owing to a knee injury, is Yates' other absentee.

Notts County will have Jamie Fullarton in charge for the first time when they resume action following a two-week break.

Fullarton this week made the short move across the River Trent, having been a coach at Nottingham Forest, to become the new manager of the Magpies, who have not played since January 2 after their game at Accrington last weekend was postponed following heavy rain in Lancashire.

Fullarton will have Alan Smith available, despite the experienced midfielder holding transfer talks with League Two rivals Plymouth. But Liam Noble will complete a four-match suspension.

Scot Bennett will be back in the squad after returning from his loan spell at Newport. It was hoped the defender would be able to feature last weekend against Oxford but international clearance was not received in time. Bennett will be vying for a recall to the starting line-up along with the likes of Thierry Audel, Curtis Thompson, Jimmy Spencer and Ronan Murray.