Notts County boss Ian Burchnall has played down bookies' odds linking him with the vacant Forest Green Rovers job. The 39-year-old is enjoying a strong season in his first full campaign at Meadow Lane.
The Magpies' final game of the regular season is at Maidenhead on Sunday with County looking for a third win in a row. Consecutive wins and clean sheets over Dover and Altrincham in recent weeks have seen Burchnall's side enter a crucial stage of the season in top form.
Despite recent good results though, his team will not be able to move any higher than their current fifth position. They are however unlikely to drop any lower with sixth-placed Grimsby three points behind and with an inferior goal difference. The play-offs begin on Monday, May 23.
Burchnall has been in charge since taking over from Neal Ardley in March last year. He guided them to last season's play-offs before losing a heart-breaking semi-final 4-2 in extra-time against Torquay United.
And his impressive work at County has seen him being linked with the job at Forest Green after their manager Rob Edwards left for Championship-bound Watford following the Hornets' relegation from the Premier League.
But Burchnall has played down any odds linking him with the job, saying ahead of this weekends game: "I've been made aware of it today but it's not the first time that I've been on the bookies odds for various different jobs and as I said before I guess that's just flattering that you're doing the right things were your at.
"For me the only thing that we've been talking about is Maidenhead, getting promoted and the current games ahead so I've got no other thoughts other than popping up on there is sometimes flattering.
"I guess it's no different to players to a degree that the players get linked with clubs if they're doing well and when the team does well. That's just a normal part of football but I guess when your name is attached to stuff, it's because you're doing something right and hopefully, most importantly, the people in Nottingham think I'm doing something right."
Despite their place in the play-offs secured and with little chance of their current league position changing, the Notts boss remains wary of his side taking their foot off the gas in case of a freakish set of results.
He added: "We don't take anything for granted. We saw some insane results in other leagues, I think it was Plymouth who lost five or six nil and dropped out on the last day and the Bristol Rovers score last week. I'm not suggesting anything like that's going to happen but Grimsby have got the capabilities to go and score five or six goals with the quality that they've got.
"We don't want to go thinking that we're already tied up and we need to protect people and rest. If somebody's not 100% fit or at risk, then we don't use them, that's normal for any game. But other than that, we're going to put the team out that we think is going to win the game."
