CRAIG WESTCARR says Notts County must lose the fear factor when they face Huddersfield Town on Sunday.
Three successive defeats, and five in their last six games, have left the Magpies too close to the League I drop zone for comfort.
Westcarr is confident County, beaten 3-0 by Town at Meadow Lane on the opening day of the season, can avoid a quick return to League II after last season’s promotion.
But he believes Paul Ince’s side, who are six points above the drop zone, must play with greater self-belief.
“We’ve been too worried about losing games at times because of the position we are in,” said the 26-year-old former Nottingham Forest player.
“We need to be more confident and more positive. We need to let loose and go for teams now.
“We need to start games well, attack and see where that takes us instead of sitting back because, before we know it, we are 1-0 down and chasing the game.
“If we take games to teams it will pay off because we have got the players to score goals, like Lee Hughes and Alan Gow, but they are a bit isolated and are not getting too many chances.
“It’s not like us to only create one or two chances in a game. We’re definitely a team that can create more chances than we are doing. It’s probably down to being a bit low on confidence.”
Westcarr is Notts’ joint-leading scorer so far this season with Hughes on 12 goals and made his return from a knee injury in the 1-0 defeat at leaders Brighton on Tuesday.
That followed setbacks by the same scoreline against Bristol Rovers and Rochdale, but Westcarr remains optimistic on survival.
“We’re better than the position we are in, but the table doesn’t lie,” he said.
“If we get our confidence back and start playing the football we know we can play, it will only be a matter of time before we get enough points to stay up.”
