'He just makes me smile' - Hogg praises Cobblers duo after Robins draw
Cobblers boss Chris Hogg hailed the ‘tenacity and enthusiasm’ of Joe Wormleighton and the ‘leadership’ of midfielder Lee Evans after Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Swindon Town.
Not many people expected Wormleighton to start for the League Two curtain-raiser at Sixfields but he had an excellent game at right wing-back, with his energy and commitment earning plenty of appreciation from home supporters.
"Wormy just makes me smile,” said Hogg. “His enthusiasm rubs off on people. Sometimes he needs slow down at times and think a bit smoother but he brings such energy and tenacity and he's like that every day in training.
"Sometimes you have to say to him 'relax Joe, it's matchday minus one, let's not go smashing into people', but he was really good and I thought all of the boys did a good job of riding some of the momentum in the game.”
Evans was also a surprise starter given how late he joined the club. The 32-year-old missed the whole of pre-season and only came on as a late substitute at Leicester last weekend, but he played over 70 minutes against Swindon.
"When you've had the amount of games he's had, I think you know to put yourself in certain positions,” Hogg added. “In the first half, when Swindon had a couple of moments, he put himself in the right positions to snuff it out straightaway.
"What we need to do with everybody is build that rhythm on the ball and that'll come as we play more games, but it's great to have Lee with us. He's a leader behind the scenes and I knew I could put him in today and rely on him and he'll do a job and do what's required for the tam. He's up and running and he'll only get better and better from here.”
Saturday also marked the full senior debuts for Leicester loanee Logan Briggs and teenage forward Matty Warhurst.
“The two young boys came in and I have full belief in them, otherwise they wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t have signed them,” continued Hogg. “Both did some good bits and they’ll only get better and better the more they play and their journeys are something I’m really looking forward to seeing.”