'It's all on us' - Players jump to Hogg's defence after York rout

Behind after nine and a half seconds - the third quickest goal in FA Cup history - Northampton endured another entirely forgettable afternoon in the competition as York raced into a 3-0 lead and essentially put the tie to put inside half-an-hour.

As is the way in football, the manager is ultimately the one who carries the can, but it was clear from the post-match interviews with both Maxwell and Guthrie that they did not want Hogg to take the blame.

“There’s no sugarcoating it,” said Maxwell. “It was nowhere near good enough. The first 10 seconds summed it up and it’s all on us as players. There’s no staff or coaches in the world that could have planned or mitigated for what we delivered in the first half.

“We feel we let them down. I’ve worked with various different managers at other clubs and we’re fortunate to have such good coaching staff that give us everything Monday to Friday. They give us loads of detail on the opposition and on how we can be better players.

“We thought York would probably do something different and be a bit more direct than the league game so there was no surprises. But for us to deliver that today, in terms of quality and tactically and technically, it was just miles off.”

Maxwell elaborated on his support for Hogg, adding: “He’s one of the best I’ve worked with. We’re lucky to have him and the coaches. That’s not me coming out to bat for him, it’s the honest truth.

“None of that today is on the coaching staff, it’s on us as players. That comes with the territory but we have to stick together as a group and we need to show a reaction on Tuesday and next weekend.”

Guthrie said: “I don’t think the manager could have done anything today. If you look at what we did, that’s not down to tactics or how the team’s setup. It was about us as individuals being nowhere near the level. I’m sure people will say what they want to say but, for me, it’s down to us.”