Jon Brady reveals what he said to Cobblers players straight after 'hugely disappointing' Stevenage defeat

Cobblers boss Jon Brady admitted Boxing Day’s ‘hugely disappointing’ defeat to Stevenage provided added motivation for both himself and his players as they tried to right those wrongs with a strong performance and result against Lincoln City on Friday evening.

The Town manager made no attempt to sugarcoat his side’s limp display after their 3-0 loss at the Lamex Stadium, which saw many of the 895 away fans leave early, but he only had praise for his players following Friday’s excellent 2-1 victory, also in front of close to 1,000 Cobblers supporters.

"The fans have backed us in big numbers in these last two games and we were hugely disappointed after Stevenage,” said Brady. “When we came in after the game, my first words to the group were 'how can I defend that?' because we always want to show our fans the best of ourselves and that we give everything we've got and we put in great performances.

"Yes, Stevenage is a very tough place to go and you do have blips every now and again, but that performance didn’t represent us. To then give that back to the supporters (against Lincoln) felt really special and I think those who were at the game will really enjoy that one.

"I went and sat in the coach for a minute after full-time and there were fans banging on the coach and saying 'well done' and they loved it and they loved the passion and the energy and the desire from the players. Fair play to the boys for having the character to bounce back after Stevenage.”

Brady enjoyed the win over Lincoln as much as he’s enjoyed any win this season as goals from Jon Guthrie and Kieron Bowie lifted Cobblers back into the top 10 in League One.

"It was just sheer elation and I'm so proud of the boys,” Brady added. “It feels like a huge win against a team who were ninth in the league. Kelvin (Thomas) has talked about celebrating every point at this level, especially away from home, and we now jump over Lincoln in the table.

"The boys put in a huge shift and we had 1,000 fans backing us and the noise they made was superb. I was trying to jeer them on and they were lifting us and I wanted to go and enjoy that moment with them at the end because we've worked so hard.

"We've had some special moments over the last three years and because I was so close to them I felt that connection today. The year started with that win over Leyton Orient and then to get promotion and now to be 10th in League One, wow, it's been a whirlwind but those are the moments you want and that's what you work for."