Cobblers skipper Guthrie targets an immediate response at Pompey

And what better place to do that than at the home of the Sky Bet League One leaders Portsmouth on Saturday?

As a collective against the Shrews, the Cobblers were way off the pace, playing well below their normal levels.

There was no attacking spark, a lack of bite and drive in the midfield, and the defence was slack, allowing the fired-up Shrews too much time and space.

It was all a bit of a damp squib following the excitement and drama of the previous win at Charlton, with another 7,000-plus crowd turning up expectantly.

They were to trudge home disappointed, but there weren't any dissenting voices as they could see that it was just one of those days where nothing clicked.

"Something we pride ourselves on in this squad is that nobody gives up," said Guthrie.

"Even when we went down to 2-0 we still worked hard, we just didn't have that bit of quality, and we just struggled.

"It was a bad day, but I don't think anybody can ever fault the effort and character this squad has shown over the past couple of years.

"It was just one of those games, and we have not had too many of those this season. We have always bounced back from these sorts of performances and results, so that's the plan going forward."

The first chance to bounce back comes at Fratton Park, where Town will come up against a Pompey side that triumphed 3-0 at Sixfields early in December.

The south coast side are also top of League One, where they have been for much of the season, and Guthrie admitted: "Games don't get much tougher than the top of the league away.

"We have beaten teams that are up there this season, we have beaten Peterborough, we have beaten Blackpool, teams that are flying high.

"We know we will be in for a tough game but we will always back ourselves.

"We know that on our day we are as good as anyone, so we just need to be at our best level.

"A lot of people will be writing us off before the weekend, but we know what we have got in this squad.

"We just go about our business, and regardless of who we are playing we are a confident group and we have shown we can compete with anybody in this league.

"We will go to Portsmouth full of confidence, and looking to come out with a result."

Pompey were too good for Town at Sixfields, but Guthrie insists he and his team-mates can turn that result around, saying: "You are always learning lessons, and win, lose or draw there are always things you can take from any game.

"I am sure we will look back at the last game we played against them to see what we can do better and it will be tough.

"But these sort of games are the reason we wanted to get promoted, we want to go to Fratton Park and play these big clubs, and I am really looking forward to it."