Coughlan 'really impressed' by Cobblers and hails them as 'one of the best teams in the league' ahead of Good Friday meeting

Newport County manager Graham Coughlan has been full of praise for Northampton this week ahead of Good Friday’s meeting at Rodney Parade, describing Jon Brady’s side as ‘one of the best in the league’.

Coughlan has steadied the ship after replacing James Rowberry in October with Newport 18th in League Two and seemingly safe from relegation, currently nine points above the drop zone.

The Exiles boss sees tomorrow’s game as an opportunity for his side to compare themselves to a team at the top end of the table and chasing promotion to League One.

He said: "It’s a big game for us and I’ve said to the lads if you want to be the best you have to benchmark yourself against the best and for me Northampton are one of the best teams in the league.

"It’s a great opportunity for our lads to showcase their quality and show how far they’ve come. We played really well against them in the reverse fixture and I want that same intensity but I want us to be more clinical.

"We are at the stage where we need to turn draws into wins and this game will be a great benchmark to see how far we’ve come. We’re in a better place but Northampton are in a better place as well.

"I watched them against Doncaster and I was really impressed. They have goals all around, they are efficient, they do their jobs well, they work their socks off and they are coached really well by Jon Brady and Colin Calderwood, who are two good guys.

"They are up there for a reason and that’s because they tick all of the boxes and they are good at all aspects of the game. They don’t give silly goals away, they don’t make silly errors, they’re clinical, they defend their box really well and they have numerous sources of goals.

"There’s much of a muchness between the two boxes in this division but it’s about being clinical and decisive and Northampton are both clinical and decisive.

"I’ve seen them on a number of occasions and I think we can more than match them. I’m looking forward to it because I think it’ll be a good game.”