Brady praises Guinness-Walker's impressive Sixfields debut and gives injury update on defensive pair

Signed as a free agent only last month, the 25-year-old has suddenly become a crucial player for Brady following serious injuries to his three other left-backs. Patrick Brough (broken leg), Ali Koiki (muscle) and Luke Mbete (hamstring) are all out for the long-term.

Cobblers fans liked what they saw from Guinness-Walker on his Sixfields debut against Leyton Orient at the weekend during an impressive, positive performance at left-back before he had to be taken off in the second half.

Brady said: "We feel it is just cramp but he needs to rest up and hopefully he's able to go again because that's a real good foundation for Nesta. I thought he came on and did quite well for 45 minutes at Wrexham to be honest, under severe pressure, and then we tried to build his minutes.

"I was watching the game at Notts County with one eye closed because I was just hoping he could get through it. We're trying to build him up but we have no cover there currently. He did well in that game and today he did well again and he's built minutes and now we have Saturday-Tuesday games so we'll need him.

"He's been training with the PFA and we spoke to them and they said he's one of the fittest players there, but that doesn't replicate games so deliver that today is a real strong start for Nesta.”

Brady also confirmed that Akin Odimayo came off with ‘fatigue’ against Orient and will be assessed on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Edgeley Park.