Brady: Cobblers must play their own game against 'physical' Stevenage

This Boro team has Steve Evans’ fingerprints plastered all over it but whatever you think of the aesthetics, it has proven mighty effective during the first third of the campaign. They have won 10 of their opening 14 games and are currently making a mockery of all pre-season predictions by sitting at the very top of the League Two table.

Cobblers are the next team tasked with stopping them in their tracks.

"They have got men all throughout their side,” said Town boss Jon Brady. “They are strong and powerful and they play a certain way but they play to their strengths and it really works for them.

"It's reflected by the fact they are top of the league so fair play to them. We will go there with a game plan to stop them and to try and get the three points. They will be doing the same but we will do our utmost to make sure we are the side that comes away with a win on Saturday."

For Brady, the key will be not to get sucked into Stevenage’s way of playing. No team in the division wins more headers or makes more tackles than Stevenage so Cobblers must be up for the battle first and foremost.

But they must also find a way to hurt their hosts if they are to avoid becoming the 14th consecutive team to come away from the Lamex Stadium empty-handed.

"We play our way and we will be trying to implement how we want to play,” Brady added. “Yes, they are physical but if you keep the ball and look after the ball, you can get them chasing and then it's a different story.

"There are different things we will want to do within the game and we will set out tactically to implement those things and in the end we hope that makes the difference for us to come out on top.

"On the day, first and foremost, you have to have the non-negotiables. You have to run harder than the opposition, outwork them and outfight them to earn the right to play.

"There's no right way to play but over the time we have been here, we have looked to be adaptable and flexible because teams who can adapt the way they play are probably the teams who have more success at this level. We feel that is a strong point to us."