Brady sees 'so many things' for Cobblers to improve on despite good start

'We’ve said it before but if we’re improving in every game up to that 10-game mark, that’ll bode well for the future.'
Jon Brady and Colin Calderwood.Jon Brady and Colin Calderwood.
Jon Brady and Colin Calderwood.

Cobblers may have started the new season with two wins from two but manager Jon Brady knows there are still lots of improvements to make.

Town got the new season up and running by beating Port Vale 1-0 at Sixfields on Saturday, and then followed that up by dumping Coventry City out of the Carabao Cup in midweek.

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After a shaky start, Brady's side were excellent at the Ricoh Arena and well worth their victory, but Saturday's success came in a tight game with few chances.

Reflecting on that opening-day win, Brady said: "It was a win and three points and there were positives for us, but we're a group that's going to be learning a lot and I think there are so many things we can improve on.

"We can certainly be better on the ball than we were on Saturday. It's just the little things like lending the ball and playing the simple passes quick and early. We also want to defend from the front and I felt we could have done that a lot better.

"But it can be very hard on the first day of the season. If you've been involved in any first game, it's a scrap and it's a fight and no-one wants to make a mistake.

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"Sometimes you have to let the first one or two games ride and get through them and then you find teams will start to open up and play a little bit more."

The grind now begins in earnest with league and cup games arriving thick and fast.

“We’ve got to thrive on it, we’ve got to enjoy it and we’ve got to embrace it,” Brady added. “We had eight debutants at the weekend and the first game of a new season is always very hectic and very frantic because no player wants to make a mistake.

“It’s not played how we all want it to be played and it goes at 100 miles per hour but once we get into the season and we’ve played four, five, six games, things start to calm down and settle down and you find a rhythm.

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“We’ve said it before but if we’re improving in every game up to that 10-game mark, that’ll bode well for the future. We’ve just got to keep improving.”

Cobblers play their first away league game at Colchester United this weekend.

The U's endured a torrid campaign last year, finishing way down in 20th place, but they have bolstered their ranks with several experienced names this summer, including ex-Cobbler Luke Chambers.

Brady continued: "Everyone knows they have signed some good experience from Ipswich and some other talented players as well.

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"Hayden Mullins has done well previously at Watford and he's someone I've followed closely and they'll probably be another team who will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

"It'll be a different challenge away from home but it's something we're looking forward to and we've got to attack these games week in, week out."