McCormack 'feels in a really good place physically' and wants to lead Cobblers to play-off glory

Cobblers midfielder Alan McCormack says he feels 'in a really good place physically' following the first two weeks back in training with his team-mates.

The 36-year-old has been no stranger to the treatment room during his first season at the PTS following two separate spells out with hamstring and calf problems.

He had started successive matches and was working his way back to full fitness when the season was brought to an abrupt halt in the middle of March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But the three months without a fixture has allowed the former Luton and Brentford man to shake off any lingering niggles and ensure he is in good physical condition for the play-offs.

"I feel fine," said the Irishman. "I know we had three months 'off' but what a lot of fans and people who aren't involved in the day-to-day stuff at football clubs might not know is that we worked extremely hard.

"We didn't get too much time off during the break. We were out every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday putting the effort in and putting the mileage into our legs and working hard every day.

"There wasn't a lot of time off. The only difference was that when you finished your runs in the morning, you'd usually be back home in five or 10 minutes, but you're still doing your five or six kilometres every morning and the hard, physical work of short, shape shuttle runs with the long-distance stuff mixed in.

"You get to build up a really robust body and a robust engine to keep going and keep slogging away and when you come back into training, it's all about small, sharp side of the game and getting your positional sense back again."

After nearly three months of training alone, McCormack has been back alongside his team-mates for the last couple of weeks as they prepare for the play-offs.

"For me, I felt like I built up a good and very strong base that allows me to go into more physical work in matches," he added. "I'm fit and strong and I've done every day so far since we've come back in and I feel really good doing it.

"Like anyone else, playing competitive games will be completely different but I feel I'm in a really good place physically and mentally I'm even stronger."