Cobblers team news for Tranmere clash as Hogg considers changes
Cobblers boss Chris Hogg is yet to decide whether to stick or twist when it comes to selecting his starting XI for Tuesday’s game against Tranmere Rovers.
Hogg would no doubt want to pick the same XI that beat Grimsby Town 2-0 on Saturday but, as the games start to come thick and fast, he also has the option to freshen things up. One player who could come in against Tranmere at Sixfields is striker Nathan Opoku.
“Everyone came through fine from the weekend and Nathan trained a little bit on Monday so he’ll definitely be in contention,” said Hogg. “We’ve got quite a big squad for the level and there’ll be certain things happening with that over the course of time, but at the minute we’ve got boys who are hungry and wanting to be involved.
“Sometimes the team picks itself in terms of performances and we’ve had a look at a few bits, but I want us to go out and build on that first 38 minutes from the weekend. Things will look different in some ways but the principles and behaviours need to be bang on as they were for most of the game on Saturday.
“Tranmere have a good manager, they’re organised and aggressive at times, but if we can do what we’re capable of, I truly believe we can get a positive result against anyone in this league. It’s down to us to have that belief and that’s definitely something which is growing inside the club.”
Town’s second at Blundell Park was their first goal direct from a set-piece this season. Elliott Moore nodded Lee Evans’ corner back across goal for Jon Guthrie to poke in.
Hogg added: “It’s been a focus of ours all season because set-pieces are something you have to do well at this level, but we have definitely doubled down on it in training.
“We need people to step up as well. You can do whatever you want in training, you need players to have the mentality to go and head the ball and that applies in both boxes.
“There’s organisation and areas you try to exploit, or areas you have to defend well, but it comes down to the will and desire to get on the end of stuff, and quality delivery as well. These are all things we have to keep improving and keep getting better at.
“But things take time to settle down and players who haven’t played at the level need time to adjust. It’s a process and it’ll be up and down. We need to keep forming those connections and relationships, but also we’re not happy with just two good performances and four points. We have to go on and back it up.”
Guthrie himself added: “I’ll take any goal that comes my way and it’s something we’ve spoken about. We should have been doing better with the players and we know we can be more of a threat, so we’ve worked really hard with Sammo.”