Cobblers boss Edinburgh relishing the pressure as he prepares for first game in charge

Justin Edinburgh has yet to even take charge of a match as the new Cobblers boss, but accepts the pressure is on to start winning straight away.
Cobblers boss Justin EdinburghCobblers boss Justin Edinburgh
Cobblers boss Justin Edinburgh

The former Gillingham manager began work at Sixfields on Monday after taking over from Rob Page, who was sacked last week thanks to a run of nine defeats in 11 matches in all competitions.

That desperate run was extended to 10 losses in 12 with Saturday’s defeat to title-chasing Scunthorpe United with Edinburgh, who was only appointed Town manager on Friday night, watching on from the stands as caretaker boss Paul Wilkinson took the reins.

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With other results going against the Cobblers at the weekend, Edinburgh will take charge of his first game as Town boss at Milton Keynes Dons on Saturday with his team in 16th place in Sky Bet League One, now just five points above the relegation zone.

Dons are below Town in the table, and with a clash against rock-bottom Coventry City to follow a week later at Sixfields, these are huge fixtures for the Cobblers and their new boss, and the 47-year-old knows the heat is on.

“Whatever club you go into, you want to make an impression and an impact and that is what we have to strive to do,” said Edinburgh. “And of course there is pressure on me straight away.

“We have all been in the game for a while now. It is a pressurised profession, and is quite a unique industry, and why we keep coming back I don’t know! But we do, and we understand it.

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“People talk about an ethos or philosophies, but there is only one most important one that you cannot come away from and that is winning football matches.

“That is what we have to do as a team as a group, start winning matches, and sooner rather than later.

“We have half a season to go, we have some really good games against teams in and around us, and we have to get back to winning matches, that is the most important thing.”

Despite the team’s poor form and position in the table, Edinburgh is not surprisingly in a positive frame of mind as he settles into his new job.

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“I am somebody who always looks at the glass half full rather than half empty, and I think that is the way we have to approach it,” he said.

“There is a good squad here, and we have to get to the bottom of the reasons why the run of late has been as it has of late, but that is what I am here for.”