Cobblers '˜to freshen things up' for QPR tie as Edinburgh seeks cup upset

Justin Edinburgh will make changes for Tuesday's EFL Cup tie. Picture by Sharon Lucey

With the options he has available, Edinburgh could make wholesale changes from Saturday’s defeat to Shrewsbury Town when six players made their full competitive debuts for the club, plus Dean Bowditch who’s in his second spell.

There may well be more handed out on Tuesday with the likes of Regan Poole, Yaser Kasim and Chris Long all eyeing their first Northampton starts.

“I have to be mindful of utilising the squad but also making sure we go there and give ourselves the best opportunity to get a result,” said Edinburgh.

Regan Poole could make his Cobblers debut on Tuesday

“There’ll be one or two changes because that’s why we’ve got the quality and depth in this squad, so we’ll look to freshen things up.”

Tuesday’s tie at Championship side QPR will be a stiff test for Town but, following the disappointment of Saturday’s late defeat, Edinburgh sees it as a prime opportunity to right some of those wrongs and produce a better performance, especially in attack.

He added: “We’ll go there to impose ourselves and to try and put our own style of play on the game and cause an upset.

“We certainly know that we need to improve in possession of the ball but I have no doubt that will come as the players continue to gel and get an understanding with each other.

“What we also have to do is continue the defensive resilience we showed on Saturday and that was the real plus to come out of the game.

“We’ve done a debrief and it took a lot longer than you would expect but we’ve got to show that same bravery that we did without the ball.

“There were so many bodies put on the line and in the way of any Shrewsbury attack but there weren’t enough numbers offensively and that’s something we’ve got to build on and be better at and we’ve got the chance to do that on Tuesday.”

Town will again be without John-Joe O’Toole (groin), Brendan Moloney (hamstring), Shuan McWilliams (ankle), Sam Foley (ankle) and Sam Hoskins (knee) for the trip to London, although Edinburgh hinted ‘one or two’ could be back for Saturday’s league clash with Fleetwood.