Brady believes having players back from injury is vital for Cobblers as Guthrie nears return

Jon Brady has reiterated the importance of having his best players back available following Northampton’s return to winning ways on Saturday.

Cobblers have had seven or eight players absent on a regular basis over the last month, including captain and leader Jon Guthrie and key midfielder Jack Sowerby, plus strikers Louis Appéré and Kieron Bowie, who missed three games due to suspension.

A busy schedule during that period meant the same 11 or 12 players played a lot of minutes and that took its toll with poor performances against Derby County and Barrow, but boosted by the return of Sowerby, Bowie and Aaron McGowan, Town were back on form against Burton.

"I think the pleasing thing was the energy and tempo we played with,” said Brady. “That’s dipped in previous games but it only dips because of the injuries. You’re having to play the same group of players week in, week out for a month and a half.

"You know potentially you will have to ride through a few storms at this level, especially when you lose the amount of players we have. It’s so difficult because training becomes disjointed and you don’t have the bodies available, but we’re now starting to get some back.

"I would hope that Jon Guthrie might be there or thereabouts for a few minutes in the EFL Trophy game against MK Dons next week and that would be a huge plus for the whole group.

"It's great to get the win but the performance overall was a really pleasing and it's something to build on, and we're also getting some players back which is a huge positive."

Saturday’s win over Burton capped off a good day for the club, who opened their new community pitch before kick-off.

Brady added: "We really appreciate the support and it was a special day for the club with it being Community Day. I haven't seen many clubs who are better with what they do in the community.

"You look back at COVID times and what they club did with Keith (Curle) and the phone calls. It's that special connection we have with the local community and the new pitch outside the stadium is absolutely brilliant. It's a great place for kids to play and who knows one of those six or seven year olds might be in our first-team one day.

"But to have the fans turn out and back us and support us, we'll need them through some tough times. We've gone through a difficult spell but we need to move forward."