Grimes confident Sixfields form will improve as he remains wary of potential ban

Having picked up nine bookings so far, one more in the next three games will see Grimes receive a two-match suspension as the 37-game cut off point approaches.

“I’m very aware,” he admitted. “Obviously I’m one away from a two-game ban but you’ve still got to make the challenges.

“I’ve put myself in this situation and it’s something I’ve got to deal with. I’ll just have to be a little bit cautious now.

“I didn’t think the booking I got on Tuesday (against Gillingham) was a yellow but I’ll keep my fingers crossed!”

In their last outing at Scunthorpe United on Saturday, the Cobblers did not cough up many chances against the fifth-placed hosts but neither did they create many of their own bar the two goals, both of which came from Grimes’ set-pieces.

Despite being four unbeaten on the road, Town remain up-and-down at Sixfields, losing their last two and winning just three of the past nine games, as they continue to search for long-term consistency to pull clear of trouble.

“We just need to keep doing exactly what we’ve been doing,” added Grimes. “If we keep working hard, you can see the results we’re getting away.

“It’s not quite working for us at home but we know it’ll come, no worries.”

The Cobblers have a prime opportunity to right the wrongs of their past two outings at Sixfields this weekend when managerless Oxford United, who’ve lost five of their last six, are the visitors.

“It’s not a bad time to play them but we know that, if we turn up against any team in this league, we have a good chance of winning the game,” Grimes insisted.

“We just need to focus on ourselves this week and work out know how to beat them and see if we can execute that on Saturday.

“We’re confident going up against anyone at the moment. We’ve had a few bad results at home, which is unlike us, and we weren’t at the races on Tuesday, in the first-half especially.

“But we just need to keep building on days like Saturday and keep going.”