Brady confirms reason for taking off David Norman during win over Harrogate

Manager Jon Brady confirmed defender David Norman was taken off with fatigue during Saturday’s 3-1 win over Harrogate Town at Sixfields.

The 24-year-old Canadian only joined the club on a short-term deal a month ago and made his first competitive start in six months when playing 90 minutes against Gillingham on Easter Monday.

Norman subsequently started four games in 12 days and that sudden heavy workload caught up with him in the first-half on Saturday. After hauling Cobblers level with his first goal for the club, the centre-back was replaced by Shaun McWilliams at half-time.

"David has played four games in 12 days and you could see he just looked a little tired,” said Brady. "He's got a full week of rest ahead of him now so it's just something we had to manage.

"He's gone six months without a game and then he's come in and played as much as he has and it's just understanding the situation and looking after him.

"We can't take that risk because we don't want another injury and I felt he was limping a little before half-time so there were a lot of things to consider and I just made the call to do it.”

Norman’s centre-back partners Max Dyche and Sam Sherring managed to last the full 90 minutes against Harrogate despite both returning early from injury just four days earlier.

Brady added: "I thought Max was really solid and Shez won some crucial headers towards the end of the game. He was excellent and they are all putting their bodies on the line for us.”