Jones determined to earn new contract - either at Cobblers or elsewhere

The prospect of being without a club this summer is providing striker Alex Jones with 'massive motivation' to keep impressing for the Cobblers until the end of the season.

After leaving Partick Thistle last July, the 26-year-old was unattached for seven months before penning a short-term deal with Northampton at the start of March.

He has managed five appearances off the bench but is yet to start a game, although manager Jon Brady hinted that could change when Town visit Peterborough this Friday.

"I'm thoroughly enjoying my time here," said Jones. "I was saying to one of the lads that only a few months ago I didn't have a club so just to be back around it and to be involved again and getting on the pitch is brilliant.

"I want to build on that and help the team as much as I can and it (trying to get a new deal) is obviously massive motivation.

"I'm effectively out of contract in a few weeks so I've got to do everything I can between now and then for both the club and for myself. I need to put myself in the shop window and see what comes up in the summer."

Jones could play a key role if Town are to beat the drop this season. Saturday's 1-1 draw with Bristol Rovers kept them 19th and two points above the relegation zone, but all five of their remaining opponents currently occupy a top-10 spot.

"Of course we believe, we have to as a group and a whole club," said Jones. "You look at the table and right now we're out of the relegation zone so we've got the points on the board.

"We just need to keep building on it and pull away from that group of teams at the bottom and you can only look at each game as it comes.

"This league is so unpredictable. You only have to look at some of the results on Saturday because you wouldn't have called them at 3pm. We can only control our own performance and that's how we've got to approach every game."