Nolan: Fans had a right to be 'narky' - but we now want to break more records
Kevin Nolan says Cobblers now have another record in their sights after they reached the EFL Trophy last four for the first time in the club’s history.
Following a history-making victory at AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday, attention turns back to the league as Northampton head to Exeter City this weekend hoping for three crucial points in their pursuit of survival. If they did stay up this season, it would be the first time the club have had four successive seasons outside of the fourth tier since the 1960s.
"Our bread and butter is the league and that's our main focus,” said Nolan. “It's now back to the league and we have to make sure we are still in League One at the end of the season. We've broken one record so let's go and break the next one. That's what I was brought in to do and that's what I'm driving.”
Nolan admits fans had a right to feel a bit ‘narky’ before Cobblers ended their nine-game winless run by beating Stevenage last weekend.
"Football is a mad game and there are so many highs and lows in a season,” added Nolan. “But that’s why we need to be boring and stay level. We can’t get carried away, but what I will say is that the fans were brilliant at Wimbledon and they’ve been brilliant all season and all throughout my time at the club.
“They're always behind us, even through the tough times. Yes, they're going to be a bit narky when you're losing games, that's just football and they have a right to be frustrated, but they were fantastic on Tuesday – I was actually surprised to see so many turn up.
"That just shows what they are all about and I hope we're showing them what we’re about and that everything matters to us. It’s another long one on Saturday but hopefully we can give them something to cheer about and they'll be coming home with smiles on their faces.”
Nolan confirmed the likes of Terry Taylor, Nesta Guinness-Walker and Cameron McGeehan were all rested in midweek, adding: “It's been so manic and they've had to go and go again so took this opportunity to have a night off and have a bit of a rest.
"But they didn’t get the whole day off, we put on a session in the morning and they were working hard so they didn’t get away lightly, but it was a good opportunity for them to sit out and for other lads to come in and perform.
"There's a lot of players who aren't quite there at the moment so we have to be careful with them and make sure we look after them, but the Trophy games are a good opportunity for people to showcase what they're about.
"I'm delighted with them all. We need all of the squad when we're going Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, and that's why they all need to be zoned in and ready to go.”