Kevin Nolan explains how he wants his Cobblers team to play

Cobblers have conceded 11 goals in their last three games, scoring none, to slide to 20th in League One, just one place above the bottom four. They were hammered 5-0 by Charlton Athletic last time out and beaten 3-0 by Rotherham before that.

Nolan, who took his first training session on Monday, wants his team to mirror how he was as a player and that starts by defending from the front.

"I’ve started pretty quickly and I’m looking forward to the next few weeks,” said the 42-year-old. “We need to start going in the right direction and that’s what I’ve spoken to the lads about.

"I told them that we have to be looking up and looking at the teams we want to catch. I believe in the squad and it’s up to us to do it on the training pitch and then take that onto the field and show everyone what I want my team to be all about. That’s about being on the front foot and being aggressive and being really good both in and out of possession and ultimately winning games.

"When you look at me as a player, it was hard work, determination and aggression. I wanted to be on the front foot and I wanted to score goals so that’s how I want my team to play. I also want us to be diligent in our defensive work and that starts from the top.

"I obviously played at the top of the pitch for my whole career so I know what those defensive responsibilities take and that will be really big for me because we have to stop conceding goals in the way we have.

"We need to get back to clean sheets because that’ll give us opportunities to win games and get us back to where we want to be. The target is to stay away from a relegation fight because it’s always difficult when you get sucked in.

"But I’ve had a really good response from the boys and from the staff and I’m just really looking forward to getting to know them more and putting our stamp on where we want the team to go.”