Kevin Nolan will 'never respect' players who 'throw in the towel'
Kevin Nolan has warned his squad that he will ‘never respect’ any player who ‘throws in the towel’ if they are left out of the matchday 18.
The impressive strength in depth of Nolan’s squad was demonstrated in midweek when he made 10 changes for the Vertu Trophy tie at Wimbledon, and yet Cobblers produced a strong performance and deservedly progressed through to the semi-finals.
The likes of Jack Perkins, Jack Vale and debutant Kyle McAdam all came in and caught the eye, but they are not guaranteed to start in the league, with up to six fit first-team players potentially having to be left out of the matchday 18 when Town go to Exeter on Saturday.
"Five or six lads will be upset on Saturday because they won't be in the squad,” said Nolan. “But I don't want players to be happy if they aren't playing, especially if they aren’t even on the bench, so I don’t mind them having a little sulk – as long as they do everything right.
"They have to be ready to take their chance and perform because everyone will get minutes between now and the end of the season. If they don’t take their chance, they can't come knocking on my door asking why they aren’t playing.
"I've been there as a player so I understand those feelings and sometimes it’s best to come off them and leave them to it, but there are also moments when I need to get into them. They all know the standards they need to hit and as long as they maintain those standards, that sits well with me and I’ll always respect that.
"I'll never respect anyone if they throw the towel in or don't use every minute they've got as an opportunity. You can be disappointed, I was many times as a player, but I never dropped my standards in terms of effort and enthusiasm and that's what I expect from my squad. If they drop below that, they'll have me coming down on them really hard.
"But I've got a good group here and that was really important when we put this squad together. We wanted good characters in the building and we always do a lot of due diligence on a player's character when we sign them because they all need to be ready.
“The turnover of injuries and illnesses across a season, and the schedule, is incredible, and the same players can't keep going and going and going so you need a squad that's capable across competitions. I'm absolutely delighted with everyone. It’s really good that we can leave five or six lads at home and other players come in and perform, that’s what you want as a manager.”