Hasselbaink wants Cobblers to maintain momentum against Blackpool

Town go into the game (ko 2pm) boosted by Saturday’s 2-1 win at Gillingham, but the tough tests keep coming in Sky Bet League One, and Hasselbaink has a lot of respect for Gary Bowyer’s Seasiders, who were promoted via the play-offs in May.

“I have watched Blackpool on the video, and I am obviously going to watch a little bit more,” said the Cobblers boss.

“They are very well organised, and have a lot of energy and you can see why they have got promotion. We need to find a way to break that organisation, to give them problems so that their organisation is given problems.”

The win over the Gills followed the 2-2 draw at Rochdale, and a happy Hasselbaink said: “It was a big week for us, and I am very pleased for the boys and obviously for the fans as well.

“Now can we try to build from that? Can we try to build some momentum, and take the good things from the game, and also the bad things, and keep on working?”

Blackpool have enjoyed a good start to the season following their promotion through the play-offs, but they have struggled on the road, winning just once, at Plymouth Argyle on September 12.

They were beaten 3-1 at home by Wigan Athletic last weekend, and assistant manager Andy Todd, who enjoyed a loan spell at the Cobblers in the 2008/09 season, knows the Seasiders are in for another hard test at Sixfields.

“It’s a tough game for us, and they’ve had a good result at Gillingham last week,” said Todd, who played seven games for Town under the stewardship of Stuart Gray.

“But we go there looking to bounce back from the Wigan game and we will be concentrating on ourselves.

“We know it’s a tough game and we need to be at it on Saturday because they’re fighting to get out of the relegation zone.

“But more importantly for us, we’re fighting to get back into the play-off positions.”

Todd is also looking up to meeting up again with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, having previously played against him.

“Jimmy was a good player,” said Todd, who played in the Premier League with Bolton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic, Blackburn Rovers and Derby County.

“His movement was good, he knew where the goal was and he had pace and strength.

“It’s no wonder he played for top clubs because he was a very good striker and an equally good manager.

“He was a tough guy but he was an intelligent footballer as well. He knew where to move and where to be.

“I enjoyed playing against him as he was a very good player.”