Sammo: Show Darlo no mercy

Published on Tuesday 26 January 2010 10:37

The Cobblers will look to prey on Darlington's low confidence and a desperate need for league points at the Northern Echo Arena tonight.

Ian Sampson takes his in-form Town team to a Quakers side feeling fragile and with the threat of relegation to the abyss of non-League hanging over them.

Northampton are odds-on favourites to pick up a win tonight and extend their unbeaten streak to eight games, but the manager has issued a word of caution ahead of the contest against a side who are an enormous 14 points adrift at the foot of Coca-Cola League Two.

"Everyone will say we're going to win it easily but I saw them against Rotherham last week and they played really well," said Sampson, whose team have not conceded a goal for more than eight hours.

"They had a bad result at Crewe on Saturday and we'll be going there looking to take advantage of their lack of confidence and the fact they're desperate for a win.

"They're at home so it should be quite an open game and that should play into our hands but it won't be easy because they badly need some points.

"They've got three boys over from Ireland and they'll all be grafters, so it will be a tough game for us.

"We were desperate to play the game before Christmas because we felt it could kick us off on a good run over that period."

Sampson will have the luxury of naming the same side for the fourth game in a row tonight, and he feels that consistency has been a crucial factor in the recent run.

"It's nice to have a bit of continuity in your team selection," he said. "And they're doing okay, I can't really pick anyone out who hasn't played well.

"We haven't got any knocks or problems from the weekend so it'll be the same again.

"It's definitely helping to have a settled team. Everyone knows their jobs and they all seem to be working for each other.

"We don't want individuals, we want a team, and it's going okay at the moment."

The manager is also likely to keep his seven substitutes the same for the third game running, which means loan defender Luke Wilkinson may have to wait even longer for his debut.

Kevin Thornton is unlikely to be included, as Sampson explained: "He (Thornton) was due to be involved on Saturday but he was late."

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Sammo: Show Darlo no mercy

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