Nolan: Cobblers 'passed backwards far too much' against Reading

Cobblers never really found their stride in Tuesday’s League One game at the Madejski Stadium, and other than a first half chance for Ethan Wheatley, they created very little, ultimately losing to Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan’s header midway through the second period.

Most of Nolan’s frustration in his post-match interview was directed at the officials but, speaking a couple of days on having re-watched the game, he admitted his side were well below-par.

"It’s still a bit raw with the major decision just before half-time but we have to look at ourselves as well and I’ve looked at myself and I’ve gone over the game with my staff,” said Nolan. “We’ve gone through it and there were lots and lots not to like about the performance on Tuesday.

"The decision-making at key moments when we could have hurt Reading was not good enough and they were things we showed them on the video and practiced before the game.

"But it's gone now and we have to look forward to Luton and I’m hoping for the same response as what we’ve had before when there’s been games when we weren’t ourselves. I want to put it right and get back to getting results at Sixfields.”

Elaborating on what in particular he did not like about Tuesday’s display, Nolan continued: “It was just key moments in transition after we turned over the ball. The decision-making was disappointing when we could have hurt them and we made wrong decisions and that put us on the back foot.

"We played backwards far more than I would have liked. We had chances to play through the lines or over their high back-line and punish them that way but we didn’t do it as much as I wanted. It’s something we’ve looked at and now we’re preparing for Luton. When we execute, we can match anyone and I’m looking for us to get back to ourselves this weekend.”