Brady will not panic buy as Cobblers go through their toughest period of the season

Town are currently going through their most difficult period of the season following three defeats in four, and on top of that Brady is also having to deal with a number of injuries to key players.

Shaun McWilliams, Lee Burge, Tyler Magloire, Sam Sherring and Aaron McGowan could all be missing when Cobblers take on Mansfield Town at Sixfields on Saturday.

That has led to the usual clamour among fans for new signings in January, especially given the eye-catching business being done elsewhere both at the top and the bottom of League Two, but Brady is determined to stick to his principles.

"It's always a trade-off,” he said. “Do you go and get more players in because of the injuries? It’s not as easy as that.

"You have to weigh up a lot of things and our blueprint isn't to make snap decisions and just to go out and get this person and get that person.

"We have a way of doing things, we work ethically and we will continue to do that.

"If it means taking a couple of results here and there, then we might have to, but we have young players who we're giving an opportunity to and that is rewarding in itself.”

It’s in defence where Brady is particularly hampered by injuries, with the constant need to chop and change not allowing for any continuity. Cobblers have conceded two goals in three of the past four games, keeping only one clean sheet in six.

"It's a difficult balance to find,” Brady admitted. “What we did was re-sign a lot of players that have performed well for us, but unfortunately this season we have suffered a lot of injuries to our back-line and it's been consistent.

"When one comes back in, another one or two go out and that's probably been the toughest thing. We have hardly had a settled back-line all season and the one time we did we got five clean sheets in seven games.

"With those injuries, it is frustrating and we have had to find different ways. We found ways to win games at the start of the season and we are still right up there but we may have to ride through a difficult period whilst we wait to get some players back. We feel they are not going to be long-term.”