BARROW AFC have been told that they must be 'up for a battle' when they take on Notts County at Meadow Lane.

The Bluebirds travel to Nottingham looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season at Holker Street, a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Lee Bell's Crewe Alexandra. 

Standing between fifth-placed Barrow and getting back to winning ways is Stuart Maynard's seventh-placed Notts County who will play their first match under the stewardship of the former Wealdstone manager against the Bluebirds.

This fixture also comes as the Bluebirds experience a slight bump in their form, winning only one and drawing three of their last six, a similar run to their upcoming opponents who have won two and lost three of their last six. 

Ahead of the clash, Wild spoke about his previous clashes with the new Notts County boss in the National League and what he is expecting from Maynard's Magpies.

He said: "Stuart has been quite clear in his press conferences that not a lot is going to change.

"That is what we are expecting, not a lot to change. He is very lucky in the sense that he has come into an environment where there is such a development process in terms of team and squad and he has walked into an environment where everybody knows what they are doing.

"We are not expecting much to change, but we obviously appreciate that they have got lots of players that are better than the level, and we have to wary of that and we have to make sure we are solid and tough to play against.

"We will have lots of time to have good spells of the ball which you need away from home and we need to control the ball as much as we can when we get those opportunities.

"I have played against Stuart quite a few times in the National League so I know what to expect and I will make sure the players know what to expect when we walk out there at the weekend. "

Notts County come into the clash having also enjoyed an extended recovery period after their clash with Stockport County last week was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.

However, Wild thinks this will make no difference to the threat that Barrow's next opponents will pose.

He said: "Not particularly, I think they are a threat anyway. I think regardless of if they have had four days, 12 days, or 14 days they are a threat and we know exactly the threat they pose at home and we have to be ready for that.

"We have to be up for a fight and up for a battle and make sure we are a better version of us than we were last week."