Langmead admits Cobblers have to change tactics on the road

The Town skipper is in a position where he is comfortable referring to Sixfields as a fortress, after his goal helped secure an eighth win in nine home fixtures in a 3-1 victory over Rochdale on Saturday.

And Langmead has revealed the squad plan to tweak their away-day preparations for next week’s trip to Southend United, the side directly below them in the npower League Two places.

“Sixfields is our fortress, it’s our home patch and it has been crucial to our season so far,” he said. “We know we need to rectify our away form but we also have to keep ticking over at home.

“That’s not easy, there is that expectation on us that we have to win at home because of the way our away form is.

“We are not pushing our away form under the carpet and we know with eight of our last 15 games of the season away from home that we will have to win some of those.

“It is something we discuss after every away defeat and if we can get that right we will finish in the top three, I have no doubt about that.

“We have to go into games open-minded and maybe do things a little bit differently. Everything is being done right, we’re not being unprofessional, but we’re maybe going to try changing a couple of things.”

Langmead’s goal was his sixth of the campaign and came at a crucial time, wiping out the parity Jason Kennedy’s strike had briefly given Rochdale and denying them both a foothold in the match and some vital momentum.

“I don’t think it was a great performance but it’s a great result for us,” he said. “The timing of the second goal was quite important because you always want to get back at a team as soon as they score.

“This one is absolutely mine. The ball wasn’t over the line but it was on the line and I just threw myself at it to make sure.”