Cobblers players put through 'mini pre-season' by Nolan during week off
Cobblers might not have played a game over the weekend but if any of Kevin Nolan’s squad thought their manager would let them off lightly, they were made to think again.
After putting his players through a notoriously tough and draining pre-season programme in July, Nolan used the unscheduled time off to work his squad hard again before they were given a well-deserved breather. Town were due to visit Reading but the fixture was postponed due to international call-ups.
"We've had a good week," said Nolan. "We've put a lot of miles into the lads' legs. It's almost been like a mini pre-season, but we did also give them a bit of time with their families.
"We had just gone from playing Saturday to Tuesday, Saturday to Tuesday and then Saturday again so it was a very busy period and the players didn't get many days off, but it was nice to be able to give them some time with their families.
"We were able to take a breath as staff as well and we had a mini review of the first few weeks of the season and now it's all focus on the weekend and another tough game. The lads have come back and there's a nice buzz around the place."
How to make best use of time off between matches is up for debate, but Nolan is firmly of the view that players need to be kept ticking over to ensure fitness levels and standards do not drop.
He added: "I've seen it myself from the Premier League because we always had international breaks during the season and I know what works when you have those weekends off.
"The work we did last week should benefit the players, not just this weekend but over the whole season, and it should get them stronger and fitter, and we had another tough day when we came back in on Monday. We’ll now come off them over the next couple of days and that should enable them to be ready and raring to go for Blackpool.
"We were also able to put a lot into all of the lads who have been on the periphery and they're now champing at the bit to get involved and push the boys who have been playing regularly.
“I’m really pleased with where the squad is at because we have strong competition all over the pitch and that’s great for any manager.”