In-form Appéré is showing why Cobblers were so keen to sign him

Louis Appéré has picked a good time to find his best form in Cobblers claret.

Town started the Easter weekend peering nervously over their shoulders at the teams below them, with automatic promotion seemingly out of reach.

But after two wins, two clean sheets and five goals scored, suddenly it’s game on in the race for a top-three finish and Cobblers are right there in the heat of battle.

Those six points garnered over Easter owe much to Appéré, who scored twice and assisted another two in successive man of the match performances.

It was a slow start by the Cobblers but his intensity and energy in midfield laid the platform which eventually allowed them to dominate proceedings. An effective barrier in front of the back four as very little got through - he won seven tackles in total, more than double any of his team-mates... 7.5

He followed his goal at Oldham with another against Harrogate on Monday, capitalising on a defensive mix-up to net for the first time at Sixfields.

"I just managed to get there first and touch it around the goalkeeper and then it was an open goal,” said Appéré. “It doesn't get much easier than that – but I'm happy to take it!

"I had scored both of my previous goals away from home but I want to score at Sixfields as much as possible so it was a good feeling to get my first goal at home.

"For any striker, confidence plays a big part and it probably helped scoring on Friday but the main thing was to get three points again.

Has taken a back seat in the last few games, with other players stepping up and shouldering the creative burden. That was again the case here as Appere and Hoskins stole the limelight, not that he played badly by any means. Had a hand in the opener and pressed well... 7

"It’s been a good few days for myself and for the team as well. I feel these wins have been coming because we have put in some good performances and that’s now back-to-back wins so hopefully we can keep it going.”

Strikers will always be judged by their goal tally but there is often more to it than that.

The ability to hold the ball up, link with fellow forwards and create chances for others is just as important and Appéré has impressed on all three counts.

He has now directly contributed to eight goals – three scored by himself coupled with five assists – in his 13 starts since joining the Cobblers in January.

His best display in claret. Great composure to set up Hoskins for the opener and after missing three chances, he grabbed a deserved goal when anticipating a mistake in the visiting defence before rounding the goalkeeper. Wonderful vision and weight of pass to send Hoskins away for the third. He's not the finished article but there's so much to like... 9 CHRON STAR MAN

“Assists is something I feel I can contribute to the team,” added the 23-year-old.

"As a striker, the main objective is always to score goals but I want to help the team in any way I can. If that's assists, then I'm happy with that.

"The longer we played together, it was bound to happen that we would start linking up. I think Sam and I especially do well when we play up top together.

"I have felt very welcomed here and I settled in quickly. I think I was putting in good performances at the start but now it's nice to score a few goals because that was my main focus when I came down here – hopefully I can get on a run.”

Looked set for another untroubled afternoon in goal but kept his wits about him to produce a sharp stop from Austerfield in the closing stages, ensuring a 21st clean sheet of the season... 7

There are now just two points separating Northampton, Bristol Rovers and Port Vale in the race for third spot.

Second-placed Exeter City, who still have to visit Sixfields, also remain within reach while Sutton United and Mansfield Town, both of whom have a game in hand, cannot be discounted.

Everything is in place for an exciting end to the season as Town head to Leyton Orient this weekend.

"Automatic promotion is still a possibility but we need to go and do our job on Saturday because if we lose against Orient, it's pointless talking about it,” Appéré added.

"I feel we are due a run because we have been playing well so hopefully this is it now.”