Jon Brady: It is 'incredible' and 'unbelievable' what these players are doing in the current circumstances
Jon Brady says it is ‘incredible’ and ‘unbelievable’ what his players are doing in the current circumstances and he has implored Cobblers fans to stay right behind the team, with special praise going to TJ Eyoma and skipper Jon Guthrie after Saturday’s clean sheet at Blackpool.
Town were without 15 players for the trip to the north west, including top scorer Cameron McGeehan as well as a host of defenders. The back four that started at Bloomfield Road are the only four defenders Brady currently has available.
One of those – TJ Eyoma – had not started a league game since January and was without a club as recently as three weeks ago but he played the full 103 minutes against Blackpool and was influential in keeping an excellent clean sheet. Meanwhile, amid all the injury chaos, Guthrie has played every minute of every league game so far this season.
Cobblers were backed by a good following on the Fylde Coast and Brady believes it is vital that they continue that support in the coming weeks to give the players all the help they need in the current situation.
He said: "Our analysis team were right at the top and they came down shivering – it was very cold up there with the wind blowing through the stand but the fans stuck with us and we appreciated that.
"Thanks to all the fans for coming up and supporting us but now they have to stick with us and they have to realise how bloody hard this is at the moment and how much those players are putting in.
"Imagine what we could do with a full squad? It's just testament to all of the players, especially our captain. A special mention to him because he led the team brilliantly today.
"Eyoma was on a sofa three weeks ago and he's gone out and played like that. He has no right to play as well as he did. It's unbelievable. Then there's Nesta (Guinness-Walker) out of the PFA and Waggy (Martyn Waghorn) too. Three players who didn’t have a club not so long ago. We're digging so deep.
"It's incredible what they are doing. My expectation wasn't huge for TJ because his fitness levels aren't up there but to hold onto those concentration levels all the way to the end, people who haven't played the game wouldn't understand. That's excellent from him.
"We don't have anything else. People are quick to criticise but they have to recognise the situation because all we need is positivity around the group, especially when we're back at home on Saturday.”