Fit-again Adams excited for League One test

A fit-again Nicky Adams can’t wait to test himself against some of the biggest clubs in the country ahead of his long-awaited return to League One.

The 33-year-old has won four promotions from League Two in the last six seasons but on each of the previous three occasions he dropped back down to the EFL’s bottom division.

He did that twice with Bury and once with the Cobblers when leaving for Keith Curle’s Carlisle United in 2016 following Town’s title success.

But after helping the Cobblers to League Two play-off glory in June – despite picking up an injury in the final – he’s raring to go and next month’s start date of September 12 can’t come quickly enough.

“I’m feeling good,” he said. “It was obviously a blow to get that injury but thankfully it didn’t matter in the end because we got the win and it was a fantastic night for everyone.

“I’m grateful to all the lads and everyone at the club. I put my injury to the side and forgot about it because it was a special night. It doesn’t feel like we’ve had long off and now we’re back at it again!

“League One looks unbelievable this season. There’s a lot of ex-Premier League teams and some massive clubs in there but that’s superb for us and what we want.

“People might say there’ll be no pressure on us but I put pressure on myself because it doesn’t matter who we play, we want to go out and win every game.

“It should be a fantastic season. It’s probably the strongest League One for a long time so it will be tough but we’re also excited for the challenge.”

It was only two years ago when the Cobblers were relegated out of the third tier, a couple of seasons after their title win under Chris Wilder.

But after a disappointing first season back in League Two, the club are back on the up and they look well-placed to give it their best shot against the likes of Sunderland, Portsmouth and Charlton Athletic.

“We’re a club that should be in League One as a minimum,” Adams insisted. “We’ll come up against some big teams and they’ll be fancied and rightly so but we won’t be scared of anyone.

“There might not be much outside pressure but I know what the manager is like here and we’ll put our own pressure on ourselves because we’ll be aiming to win as many games as we can.

“It was important to get away and spend time with family but now it’s back down to business.”