Harriman admits Cobblers 'need to look at ourselves' but insists belief among players remains high

Defender Michael Harriman accepts only himself and his team-mates can turn around Cobblers' stuttering fortunes ahead of tonight's tough assignment on the south coast.

There was a lot of talk about the referee and some controversial decisions following Saturday's 2-0 home loss to Charlton Athletic, Town's fourth league defeat in their past five games.

However, whilst they could rightly feel aggrieved not to win a first-half spot-kick, Harriman does not want to use the referee as an excuse for Town's ongoing struggles.

"There was the penalty shout and I think it could have been given but we can't just look at that," said the wing-back. "Yes, it might have changed the game, but at the end of the day it was early in the match and had no real bearing on what happened after that.

"We can sit here and say the referee needs to be better but as a team and a collective, we need to look at ourselves first and not worry about anything else - you've got to control the controllables in this game.

"We've got to be more clinical at one end and more resilient and stronger at the other end to keep the ball out of our goal. Mitch didn't have to make a save but he's picked the ball out of his net twice. The effort is there from the boys but we've got to get those final details right."

Cobblers have an immediate opportunity to put things right this evening, and whilst it doesn't get much harder than a trip to in-form Portsmouth, Harriman insists belief and confidence within the squad remains high.

"That's the beauty of football - games are coming thick and fast," added the 28-year-old. "We're learning all the time and we're growing all the time and we'll get back on the horse and get ready for Tuesday.

"We look forward to it. We'll be underdogs but we'll do what we do and hopefully come out on the right side. We've got to keep believing things will turn for us soon. There's a lot of belief in our squad and our changing room.

"We've not been battered in games. We've been in it but little mistakes are costing us points at the moment. The gaffer is putting challenges on us and we're enjoying it but our luck will turn and we'll keep believing because there's more than enough in our changing room to go and win games in this league. We'll prove that, don't worry about that."