Lack of ‘aggression’, not tactics, to blame for recent downturn in form
Elliott List says the need to play with more ‘aggression’ is something Cobblers have spoken about in the wake of Saturday’s heavy FA Cup defeat at York.
List has scored Northampton’s last two goals, backing up his last-minute equaliser at Accrington Stanley with a tap-in against Gillingham during Tuesday’s EFL Trophy tie at Sixfields.
But it was a second cup exit in the space of four days for Cobblers as Lamin Sillah struck early before Cameron Antwi pounced on a defensive error to seal Gillingham’s place in the knockout phase.
Chris Hogg’s side have now lost their last three matches in all competitions, hardly ideal preparation for Saturday’s trip to table-topping Salford City, who are on an eight-game winning run in the league.
“We’re disappointed to go out after doing well in the competition last season,” said List. “We want to win every game, no matter the competition, so the boys are hurting, but Saturday will come around quickly so we have to be prepared for that.
"They don’t come much tougher, Salford are flying and we’re not in the best position. We go there as underdogs, we know that, but we’ll fight and give it our all and hopefully come away with something. There’s no reason we can’t go there and get a result.”
Jon Guthrie and James Maxwell both came out in support of Hogg after Saturday’s FA Cup defeat at York, and List aired similar sentiments on Tuesday, pointing to the need for more intensity.
"We’re all behind the gaffer,” he said. “The ideas are there. We’ve fallen short at times and maybe it’s been about fight on certain occasions but that’s got nothing to do with tactics.
"Saturday was an example of that and we need to rectify those errors. I think, as a team, we’ve said we need to be more aggressive. We have to go out there and be as aggressive as we can, that’s something we have talked about, and we know we need to improve. We want to be looking up.”
Meanwhile, Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth felt his side were deserving winners in Tuesday’s EFL Trophy tie at Sixfields.
"I’m really proud of the boys, especially in the second half after we lost a few players to injury,” he said.
"We made three changes before half-time and then another two in the second half so we changed half the team, as well as the shape, and the boys dealt with it really well.
"There were some outstanding performances and I thought we deserved to win the game. The goal we conceded was poor but we put together some fantastic moves and we looked strong and quick and could have scored more.”