Cobblers fans 'have every right to have a go', admits frustrated Jacobs

Town look to be on a one-way street to relegation to League Two after losing 4-1 at Mansfield on Saturday, their seventh defeat in eight league games and fourth in a row. That dreadful form – or ‘horrendous’, as Jacobs put it – has prompted a deluge of criticism from all angles.

"The fans have been amazing, they’ve supported us all over the country this season, and at the moment they have every right to have a go at us,” said the experienced midfielder. “They want to watch good football and they want to see wins and results and they want to see that fight and determination to go out there and get points.

"There’s still seven games and we’ve got to have belief but firstly we need to show that steel to get a point and a clean sheet and get back to what we were doing earlier in the season. There’s definitely been a shift in something since Christmas but we have to pull together now. The fans have been fantastic, we can’t ask for anymore, and we need to focus on ourselves and get something going.”

Saturday was only Jacobs’ second league start of the season and the first time he’s completed 90 minutes in a League One fixture.

“I love playing for this football club and it’ll always be a special place to me," he added. "It was nice to be back out there but the frustration of the result takes over. I actually thought we got a bit of a foothold in the first half but you come off and it's the frustration and the anger of how it panned over and we have to take that on our chin and deal with it.”

Cobblers now have a 12-day break until they play again. Jacobs continued: "You want to get back out there and put it right when you have a result like that but it does give the squad a chance to get out on the grass and so some training and try and build something to take into the last few games.”