Nyatanga pays tribute to boss Edinburgh as Cobblers cut out late lapses

Lewin Nyatanga in action for the Cobblers in Saturday's 2-2 draw at Southend United (Picture: Sharon Lucey)

Being put under late pressure and subsequently conceding late goals had become a recurring theme under former manager Rob Page but since the arrival of Edinburgh, that’s not been quite so evident.

Despite losing, they finished strongly at Walsall two weeks ago and should have come away from the Bescot Stadium with at least a point, before John-Joe O’Toole’s 83rd minute winner saw them to victory against Swindon Town 10 days later.

Then again at Southend on Saturday, they were on the back foot for much of the second-half but restricted the home side to few clear-cut chances and deservedly held on for a commendable 2-2 draw.

After that game, Nyatanga said: “It was a hard-fought game and we’re pleased to get a point because it’s not an easy place to go and they’re on a good run at the moment so we’re quite happy.

“I think we showed our character. We’re not pleased with the way we conceded the goals and we’ll have a look at that but it’s good to see we came back twice and we had a few chances to nick a goal from a couple of set-pieces.”

The result took Cobblers up to 10 points from a possible 18 since Edinburgh’s first game at the helm, in addition to 14 goals scored, three more than any other League One team during that period.

“It’s been really good since the manager has come in,” revealed Nyatanga on the new boss. “The intensity in training has gone up and I think everyone’s gained that yard of pace which you can see in the way we’re playing.

“I think there’s been a real positive reaction to the new manager coming in.”

On the tendency to concede late goals, he added: “When it happens as many times as it did, you can’t say it’s bad luck.

“Once or twice it can be bad luck but we let late goals in too many times and we rarely scored late so that had to be looked at and had to be addressed.

“Hopefully it has done. Like you saw against Southend and in other games, we’re ending games quite strong, even at Walsall we won a penalty in the last minute, so that’s positive.

“We just need to keep working and keep pushing. We’ve got 13 games left and there are a lot of points up for grabs.”