New boss Duff prepared for Cobblers challenge as he gears up for first Wycombe game in charge
Michael Duff is well aware the Cobblers will be doing their best to poop his Wycombe Wanderers welcoming party when they rock up at Adams Park on Saturday (ko 3pm).
Duff was unveiled as the new Chairboys head coach on Thursday afternoon, just hours after the club announced the sacking of Mike Dodds.
The former Cheltenham Town, Barnsley, Swansea City and Huddersfield Town boss will be in the dugout for the first time on Saturday, and he will be desperate to get off to a winning start in his new job.
Wycombe go into the game sitting 19th in Sky Bet League One, having won just one of their eight games, but Duff's appointment is sure to raise spirits among the Adams Park faithful who will be hoping he has an immediate impact.
Duff is also keen for that to happen, but he accepts the Cobblers, who go into the game of the back of three straight wins, are going to be a very difficult obstacle to overcome.
Duff was asked about his hopes for his first game in charge, and told wwfc.com: "It's not a lot of prep time, so I won't have a lot of involvement in terms of the preparation as I will leave that to the coaches that are here.
"But there will be a presence and hopefully it can give everyone a spring in their step, and we can get a result first and foremost.
"How it looks, everybody has an idea on how it looks, but first and foremost it is can we win the game, can we keep a clean sheet, can we get three points?
"If we can tick all those three off then it is a starting point, although it is not the end of the world if we don't.
"I am a firm believer that if you keep doing the right thing often enough, and you work hard often enough, then the hard work will pay you back and you will get your results in time.
"So, yes, there is a new manager and everyone will be hoping there will be a bounce, but I am pretty certain Northampton might have something to say about that.
"So it is about trying to tick as many boxes as we can to give ourselves the best chance of winning a game of football."
Duff's recent record in the dugout against the Cobblers is not a good one, with Town doing the double over his Huddersfield Town team last season.
Jon Brady's side were 3-1 winners in west Yorkshire last September, and then Kevin Nolan oversaw a 3-2 win over the Terriers at Sixfields in February - a month before Duff was sacked.