Brady is spoilt for choice in midfield as quartet battle it out for a starting spot

A lack of depth in the centre of the park was part of Town's undoing last season but there are no such problems for manager Jon Brady this time around.

Brady was even afforded the luxury of being able to take out and rest the classy Marc Leonard last weekend as Jack Sowerby, Shaun McWilliams and Ben Fox started and impressed during Cobblers’ 2-0 victory over Gillingham.

"It was pleasing to see how they played at the weekend,” said Brady.

"Marc has played a lot of games, and considering he's come out of the Under-21s at Brighton, we felt, for that game, it was a chance for him to reset and get back to his sharpest.

"He's looked great in training this week and it's nice to have options in those positions for the first time pretty much all season.

"To have that competitiveness and that level of player in there is really pleasing.”

Brady could start any combination of McWilliams, Fox, Leonard and Sowerby and all four bring something different to the team, which allows the Town boss to be flexible with his system and keep opponents guessing.

He added: "We can play different combinations but it's about finding the right blend and balance in midfield.

"I feel that, with any one of those four in there, they can work off each other and there's a good understanding between them with the way we try and set up.

"Those options are really good to have and now the challenge has been set – can you stay fit and hold onto your shirt?"

Cobblers played well in their win at Gillingham but Brady knows they must now use it as a springboard.

He continued: "We were really pleased and now it's about building on it. We wanted to be fast and aggressive and I felt we were.

"We scored some good goals and the way we created them was what we had worked on throughout the week and it showed the players took on board some great learning in training and they delivered it in the game.

"What we need now is a bit more consistency in what we do and that level of tempo we played at."