Brady welcomes TV opportunity for Cobblers - but early kick-off brings challenges
Cobblers boss Jon Brady believes it can only be a good thing that more games will be shown live on Sky Sports this season, but he admits the unusual kick-off times bring their own challenges.
Up to 10 EFL matches will be shown live each weekend this season following a new broadcast deal between the EFL and Sky Sports – five in the Championship and five across League One and Two.
Northampton’s opening game of the season at Bristol Rovers was broadcast on Sky Sports Plus and Saturday’s visit of Wycombe Wanderers to Sixfields will be shown on the same channel, with kick-off brought forward to 12.30pm.
"It doesn’t make a big difference because we train earlier than that anyway,” said Brady. “The game is becoming more global and you have to be ready to play at all times.
"We are going to have different kick-off times this season because of the Sky coverage and obviously we’re grateful to be on television and I think it’s really good.
"We just have to prepare properly and make sure we get our timings right. There are a lot of adjustments for everyone to make but it's not a bad thing.”
Wycombe have four points to Cobblers’ five at this early stage of the season but they boast a superb recent record at Sixfields, winning on each of their last five visits to the ground, including last month’s Carabao Cup tie.
"You know how Wycombe are going to play,” Brady added. “I feel they have opened up a bit and they are trying to play more but they can mix it up and do both sides of the game and their team has a fair bit of power and pace about it.
"They made four changes for the cup game, we made seven and I don't think I would look back too much at that. I look more at their recent performances and they have made a strong start, especially considering the teams they've had to play.
"They've been in every single game and they've got some good results. A draw away at Blackpool is a great result and they beat Rotherham at home.
"They have pace and power and they have the ability to play through the midfield but they can also go long into the front players.
"We need to combat them and we believe we can. We're at home and our home form has been really good so we need to make sure we set up in the right way and we attack the opposition because we want to keep that momentum going.”