I'm a fighter, says Nolan, as Cobblers head into crucial Reading clash

Having spent three seasons in a row at this level, Town face a fight to make it four successive years of third tier football after back-to-back defeats to relegation rivals Blackpool and Rotherham left them 22nd and playing catch up.

However, with 19 games still to go this season, eight of which are at home to teams currently in the bottom half, Nolan remains in positive spirits.

"It’s not all doom and gloom,” he said. “There's lots of games left to get to where we want to be. We love this league and we want to stay in this league and that was the objective at the start of the season, but I don't want to stay up just by the skin of our teeth.

"We'd obviously take that but we want to establish ourselves as a League One club and that was the target when I came in. People thought we'd go down last season and they thought we'd go down this season, but we're much further on than where we were a year ago.

"I believe in the squad and I believe in what we're trying to do, on and off the field, and I feel we are in a better place. I'm looking forward to the challenge. I was a fighter as a player and that's what I am as a coach. I did it with David (Moyes) at West Ham and I'll keep pushing my staff and my players to out-perform what everyone expects.”

Asked about the challenge of instilling confidence back into his players, Nolan said: "We're all in it together and it's not about individuals. What we're trying to do is give the lads a freedom and licence to go and play and I'm hoping we will see that in the next few games. I want to us have a right good go.

"We're not going to hide, that's not what I'm about. I'm about being on the front foot and going and meeting the challenge head on and that's what we have to do, starting on Saturday."