Cobblers lining up several pre-season friendlies as players return to training

Cobblers are hopeful of arranging several pre-season friendlies later this month to accelerate their preparations ahead of the new Sky Bet League One season.

Town's players underwent tests for coronavirus on Thursday morning and were then put through their paces at the PTS Academy Stadium on the first day of pre-season training.

A return to full contact training is pencilled in for next week with the new season set to get underway on September 12, although the Carabao Cup and Leasing.com Trophy could start slightly earlier.

The Cobblers would usually play Northampton Sileby Rangers and Brackley Town, among others, in pre-season, but those fixtures are unlikely to go ahead this time around due to the non-league season not starting until October.

However, the club plan to schedule three or four games before they make their return to League One next month.

"We're hoping to arrange a few pre-season friendlies," confirmed manager Keith Curle.

"We want to have some competitive games before the season starts because they will provide us with an opportunity to put down the fundamentals, both in and out of possession, and that's what it's all about.

"It's a word that people have heard a lot and will hear a lot from me because if you get those fundamentals right, we know we can be competitive in this division."

Commenting on his side's first day of pre-season, Curle said: "It's great to be back. The players have been anticipating coming back in and we've had a taste of what's to come with the return-to-training protocol that we went through in the play-offs.

"We finished last season on a high and you can tell there's a good atmosphere and a good vibe about the players and they're keen to get back to it and recreate that again.

"The players were all given programmes to follow during their few weeks off and I'm very pleased because they've returned in very good shape. We've done a physical test in groups of five and you can tell they have adhered to those fitness programmes.

"The better shape they come back in, it means we can start putting our fundamentals down very early on."

Cobblers have a slender advantage over the majority of their competitors having already experienced playing in the COVID era following their play-off exploits in June.

"It's obviously different to normal but a lot of it is about the mentality," continued Curle. "This is the new normal and we're very transparent in the information that we give to the players so they know all the protocols that need to be followed.

"Next week we'll be able to train in bigger groups and we'll adhere to all the guidelines, but ultimately it's about getting into work mode when we cross that white line."