Guthrie feels he 'needs to stand up more' after lamenting 'miles off it' performance
Cobblers skipper Jon Guthrie felt responsible for his side’s defeat to Shrewsbury Town on Saturday after a performance he labelled as ‘simply not good enough’.
While Town have not exactly fired on all cylinders in an attacking sense so far this season, they’ve at least defended well and been hard to beat, conceding very little in the way of chances and shots.
But that was not the case against Shrewsbury where they often struggled to clear their lines and allowed the hosts to take a number of shots from dangerous areas, such as when Kian McMahon-Brown fired home an eighth-minute opener.
"I think, defensively, we have been quite strong this season,” said Guthrie. “Obviously that wasn't the case today, we gave away too many chances, and I know I can do better in myself.
"It's nice to play alongside Elliott (Moore), he's such an experienced player, but we both we need to be better. As the leaders and the more experienced players in the team, we need to stand up more and help out our team-mates.
“The performance was well short of the standards we set ourselves as players and there's no dressing it up, it's simply not good enough. We have to be miles better.”
The absence of midfielder Lee Evans, who is currently serving a three-game suspension, feels a particularly big miss given the way the team are trying to play and the qualities he offers.
But Guthrie added: "We maybe missed Lee, he's an important player for us, but Ty (Fornah) and Joe (O’Brien-Whitmarsh) did a brilliant job last weekend and different players have different qualities.
“Any team misses players when they don't play, especially the more experienced guys that can help us in a game like that, but it still doesn't excuse the performance.”
James Maxwell was similarly honest about the level of the performance, adding: “I think frustrating is good word to sum it up. We were miles off it in terms of everything we wanted to do in the game, on the ball and off the ball, and we never showed much during the whole game.
“It’s frustrating for supporters to hear because it’s all the normal cliches about it being early in the season and trying to play a different style this year, but that doesn’t excuse the lack of winning duels and all the stuff League Two is about.
“I’ve been in successful teams at this level and it’s not built on pretty passing, that comes after because you have to earn the right through winning your duels and doing the basics. We didn’t do any of that and that set the tone for the game.”