Brady's relief at chance to 'breathe' as 'brutal' schedule eases but asks for one more 'big push' against Newport

Jon Brady admits he is looking forward to a chance to ‘breathe’ when the ‘brutal’ schedule finally eases next month, but first he’s asking his players for one more ‘big push’ against Newport County this weekend.

Cobblers, currently without seven players for various reasons, put in a monumental shift to beat leaders Stevenage at the weekend but then looked leggy in the second-half against Sutton United during Tuesday’s 2-2 draw.

The visit of Newport to Sixfields this weekend will be their 21st game in the space of three months but thereafter the fixture list eases. They are currently due to play only three games in November – FA Cup dependant – and do not have another midweek league game scheduled until February.

"August, September and October for players and managers have been brutal in terms of the amount of games we have played,” said Brady.

"If you can get through that period and be in a good position, you can breathe. It'll be a big push on Saturday for us and we have to make sure we are really strong and competitive in the game and get through it and then we can breathe a little.

"That's not to say we would relax with the FA Cup coming up, not at all, but it's a chance for players to rest and recharge and not have that constant churn of Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday."

The drop off in energy levels was visible in the second-half against Sutton and the statistics backed up what the eye saw.

"There was a noticeable drop off and our stats showed that as well,” Brady added. “It was difficult on the night physically and I think anyone could see that.

"The game against Stevenage was hugely physical but it was also a very emotional game with everything that happened so it took its toll, but in the second-half Sutton played with a lot of energy and really put it on us.

"In the end, we were disappointed to concede those goals but it's learning as well and we have to move forward from it and be better for it.”

Brady is unlikely to get many players back for tomorrow’s game but he must find a way to summon another big effort out of his squad against improving Newport.

"If we can be good in all departments in terms of our energy levels and the way we play, we can get the three points,” he continued.

"There are certain ways of looking after players in the group with the way we prepare for the weekend to make sure they are fresh and ready to go.

"We have talked about the tiredness but every team in the league will be having the same problems. They will have injuries and issues where players have probably played too many minutes.

"We need to be strong with our mindset and make sure we are tough with ourselves. This league is unrelenting and there will need to be a big push for the weekend.”