Edinburgh has '˜a lot of work to do' after Cobblers ship five at Dons

After competing well in an even and tight first 35 minutes, the Cobblers fell to pieces and were cut apart by Dons as mistakes from Matty Taylor and Lewin Nyatanga gifted the hosts a 2-0 half-time lead.

A scrappy first-half then made way for a more chaotic second which saw the teams trade blows.

Greg Wylde’s stunner and Marc Richards’ brace offered brief hope of a Cobblers fightback, only for more abject defending to cost them dear at the other end.

“It was a disappointing result,” said Edinburgh after his first game in charge. “I’m very frustrated in terms of the manner of the goals conceded after a good start to the game.

“To concede the second goal so quickly after the first was a real blow but there was spirit and I saw some good signs.

“But certainly there’s a lot of work to do on the defensive side of things in and around our box.

“I think we showed we can create but the final third in our box we have to be a lot, lot better than we were.

“They were a bit fortuitous with a couple of their goals but if you score three away from home, you should be getting something out of the game.”

Appointed eight days ago, this wasn’t the start Edinburgh would have wanted to his Cobblers reign, and though he saw some positives, it was difficult to take much encouragement given the defensive frailties.

The five goals conceded at Stadium MK now mean Northampton have the third worst defensive record in League One.

“I’m disappointing and it’s the same in the dressing room,” Edinburgh added. “We’ll work tirelessly to put that right because it’s something that can be put right.

“Defensively, we looked comfortable to start with and we showed some periods of play where I liked what I saw but the manner of the goals they scored, they didn’t have to work hard to score those goals and that’s not good enough.”

Edinburgh also confirmed that Alex Revell was taken off with a calf injury and will be assessed over the next 48 hours.