Cobblers boss Brady to make the most of free weekend

Town are without a game as they are not involved in the FA Cup, having lost 1-0 at National League side Chesterfield in the first round earlier this month.

And although the manager aims to make the most of the time their cup exit gives the players on the training pitch, he admits he would love to be building on the momentum of their past two excellent results.

Since the Cup loss at Chesterfield, Town have picked up six points out of six on the road in Sky Bet League Two, going to struggling Gillingham and winning 2-0 and then turning in a stunning display to sink promotion rivals Bradford City 3-1 at Valley Parade last weekend.

The Cobblers don't return to action until December 3 when they entertain Tranmere Rovers, meaning they will have gone a full fortnight without playing when they take to the field next Saturday.

And Brady said: "We have been working with the players, resting ones that might need a little bit of a break, and working hard with others that need to kick on.

"I really feel we have built some good momentum over the past couple of games, and would have loved to have kept that going and had another league game this Saturday.

"But unfortunately that's not the case, and sometimes you have to take a rest and a breather."

Another advantage of Town not playing this weekend is that Brady, Colin Calderwood and other members of the coaching staff will get a rare chance to go and watch some of their future opponents in action in the flesh, rather than on a TV screen.

"We have worked hard with the group, and this weekend will also be great for us as staff as well," said the Australian.

"We can get out and potentially have a look at some other teams in our league and catch up on things that maybe we might have missed out on.

"After the recent two performances, you really want to kick on and keep going.

"Obviously that is not the case, so we have just tailored training to keep the levels of sharpness at a certain level.

"We will then build it up throughout next week and be ready to go next weekend."