Kyle Edwards has backed young team-mate Ethan Wheatley to take his next chance after the young striker missed a couple of opportunities in the second half of Saturday’s defeat to Luton.

The 19-year-old Manchester United loanee could not convert Tyrese Fornah’s cross when left unmarked in the penalty box shortly before Luton’s 77th minute opener, and then in stoppage-time his last-gasp effort was cleared off the line by Hakeem Odoffin.

Of all his team-mates, Edwards is closest to Wheatley and he has some words of encouragement for the teenage forward, saying: “I think the one at the end was a good effort but it hit the goalkeeper and slowed up and to be fair the defender made a great clearance.

"But that’s what Ethan can do – he came on the pitch and caused them problems. He's a confident boy and he’ll get another chance and I’m sure he’ll take it. Me and him are very close, we’ve been staying together so I always talk to him and give him advice as much as I can.

Ethan Wheatley came so close to pinching a point in stoppage-time against Luton.

placeholder image — Ethan Wheatley came so close to pinching a point in stoppage-time against Luton.

“My main advice has been just to keep going and not to get too hung up on missing chances. You’ll miss some and you’ll score some so stay confident and trust in your ability. But he’s a good lad and a good player and he’s shown that already and I know he’ll score more.”

Edwards could make his first start for the club when Cobblers take on Oldham in the FA Cup this weekend.

"We’ve had a couple of bad results so this weekend is a chance for us to go and get it going again,” he added. “We want to go to Oldham and win there and improve our cup record. We know the fans will be behind us and they want to win as much as we do so we’ll aim to put in a performance that gets us into the next round.”