Hasselbaink: Scunthorpe draw is a point gained for 'fighting' Cobblers

Town's 2-1 loss on Tuesday left them hovering just one place and two points above the Sky Bet League One relegation zone but Hasselbaink got the response he wanted when they went to Glanford Park to take on fifth-placed Scunthorpe on Saturday.

Chris Long nodded in from just inches out to put the Cobblers into a 13th minute lead before John-Joe O'Toole's bullet header restored their advantage on the hour-mark after Funso Ojo had brought United level late in the first-half.

Murray Wallace equalised for a second time late on, scrambling in from close-range, but Northampton weathered a late Scunthorpe barrage to pick up an important point and jump a place to 19th.

"I would have been a happy with a point before the game," said Hasselbaink. "Of course we wanted more, especially me, so in that aspect I'm very greedy and I think we could have done better with the goals against, but I'm sure they would say the same about our goals.

"This is a difficult place to come and I think they are a lot further along than us. When their manager came in, they were struggling but he's had time to work and to get his way and you could see they are a very good side.

"At times, we coped with them really well and at other times we were under pressure but we soaked that pressure up and I'm delighted with a point and hopefully that point will be very important at the end of the season."

Scunthorpe went into the game on a run of just one win in seven games but the fact they remain comfortably inside the play-offs is a reflection of their quality.

"When you come here, they push you back and push your wide players back as well and it's very difficult to get yourself out of that situation," added Hasselbaink.

"They put a lot of crosses into the box but I must say that I was very happy, especially compared to Tuesday, with the commitment and how the players conducted themselves and how they showed fighting spirit and that pulled us through."