Hogg sets out his approach to EFL Trophy as Cobblers ahead of Brighton U21s tie
Chris Hogg has confirmed he intends to make a raft of changes for Tuesday’s Vertu Trophy tie against Brighton & Hove Albion Under-21s.
The competition often ranks at the bottom on list of priorities and subsequently managers like to rotate their squads. It is no different this time around with the likes of Sam Hoskins, Elliott List, Max Dyche and Jack Perkins all in line for a start.
“There’s a few players who were really unfortunate not to play today through their attitude,” said Hogg after Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Swindon. “Sam Hoskins didn’t get on the pitch but he’s been terrific every day ever since I met him. His attitude and professionalism has been top.
“There were others who didn’t get on - Dychey and a couple more - and then a couple got a few minutes at the end. We’ll have a look at freshening things up but we want to be competitive and we want a decent team out there.
“For me, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a training game and EFL Trophy game or you’re playing in the garden with the family, I want to win and I want the players to do well and maximise themselves. We’ll approach it in the right way and we’ll pick a team that we think can win the game.”
One man keen to play is Joe Wormleighton. The right-sided player lasted the full distance on Saturday but is keen to make up for last season when he missed a chunk of the campaign due to injury.
“I 100 per cent want to play,” he said. “I want to play every game. It’s up the gaffer but the games are starting to come thick and fast now and I want to play as much as possible.”