He'll get the chance to do that today, but perhaps not on the terms he would have liked.
The manager is facing up to the prospect of being without five first-teamers for tomorrow's game, although he has hinted a decision on one or two of those may be delayed until the last possible moment.
The midfield is potentially stripped of Giles Coke and Danny Jackman, Andy Holt is struggling, and Colin Larkin is also a doubt.
Most crucially of all, though, Adebayo Akinfenwa, the lynchpin of the side and its focal point from an attacking point of view, could be out.
The powerhouse striker wore a knee brace in the defeat at Milton Keynes and is currently being described as 'tender' by his manager.
"We've got four or five in the treatment that didn't train yesterday," he said.
"I will need to finalise things later today. We lost Andy Holt in the reserve-team game the other day.
"Bayo's been a bit tender, Giles Coke got a whack on the shin in the reserves as well, and Danny Jackman and Colin Larkin have both got tight thigh muscles.
"I might even have to leave some of them until the day of the game and give them a fitness test.
"It's not a major concern, if they can't play I'll bring someone else in."
That may mean a rare start for Ian Henderson, who showed glimpses of potential in his first year at Sixfields but never got himself on the scoresheet.
Gray added: "We've lost Gabor but we've got Liam Dolman that can come in there – he played well for the reserves the other day."
Dolman is a natural fit to come in as the right-side centre-half in the 3-5-2 formation Gray has opted to start with in the three games so far this season.
It is unlikely that will change – the injuries to Holt and Jackman leave Liam Davis as the only left-sided player in the squad, so wing-backs will surely be the way to go tomorrow.
It was a system that worked well at the New Den 10 days ago, when the Cobblers eeked out a 1-0 win despite long spells of Millwall pressure.
It is a result that Gray feels will give his own players confidence but will also help fire up the opposition.
"They'll be coming here fired up because we got the win there in the Carling Cup," he said.
"Kenny (Jackett) has been tinkering with his team a little bit because they've probably not got off to the start they wanted to.
"So they'll be looking for a result and if anything it will be our hardest game of the season so far.
"We have to bounce back and put them under pressure.
"Our win there will give us a bit of confidence but we cannot afford to carry three or four players in any game."
That was the case at stadium:mk at the weekend, where half the team were off their game and the team limped to their first defeat of the season.
It might have been different had Akinfenwa converted one of two glorious chances such a result might have been avoided, but it was not to be.
Gray has never been one to sugar-coat such results either to the press or to the players themselves, and admitted he had shared some harsh words with his charges after the game.
"They don't need me to give them a pat on the back if they play well but when they put in the level of performance they did against Milton Keynes then I have to dig them out," said Gray.
"We could have done with a midweek game because we've spent this week watching the video and asking questions about where it went wrong.
"It wasn't a classic game but in games like that you need to get a result, and I felt we should have got a draw there."