Hogg satisfied with 'solid' but not 'unbelievable' start to new season
Chris Hogg has described his side’s start to the new season as ‘solid’ after they made it six points from five games with Saturday’s 1-0 win over Newport County.
While five games is too small a sample size to draw any definitive conclusions, there are some interesting trends emerging from the early data, one of which is that Town have the best defensive numbers - in terms of shots faced, goals conceded and xG against - in the division so far, but their attacking metrics are among the worst.
But laying a solid foundation would have been one of Hogg’s priorities going into the season given how things unravelled in the second half of 2025/26, and the evidence at this early stage is encouraging. According to Opta, no team in League Two has conceded fewer than Town’s 46 shots - 15 of which came in the space of 40 minutes when they had 10 men against Crawley.
And now Cobblers have their first win thanks to Joe O’Brien-Whitmarsh’s 87th-minute strike against Newport, Hogg will be hoping his side can play with more freedom and attack with greater fluidity and cohesion.
"It's five points in a week and unbeaten in three and I think that's a solid start,” said Hogg. “It's not an unbelievable start but I'm delighted with some of the things I’ve seen and now we have to keep everyone positive and keep building week by week.
“We needed that first win and my celebration showed what it meant and I think it matched the energy in the stadium. It was terrific and I get a real fulfilment out of seeing people enjoy football and seeing families and kids at games and seeing them support the lads.
"Ultimately that's what we're here to do. We need to get results, we know that, and it's been four league games where we haven't won but we drew three and lost at Crewe to a dubious goal.”
Hogg will want his team to use their later winner against Newport as a springboard for the rest of the season.
"The stadium just needed that goal,” he admitted. “You could feel it. It's the first time I've won at Sixfields and the energy at the end was great and we definitely want more of that feeling.
"You saw Matty Warhurst test the goalkeeper straight after the goal and you saw the energy from everyone in the stadium. We're running forward and playing forward.
“It's simple but emotions and feelings are huge in football and I was over the moon for Joe because he deserved that moment and it lifted the team and the stadium. We’ll need everyone to step up and believe in themselves.”