Nolan looking for Cobblers to take step forward against Lincoln and build on solid start
Cobblers boss Kevin Nolan wants his team to take another step forward when they host Lincoln City at Sixfields this weekend.
After losing 4-1 in his opening game at Reading on Boxing Day, Town have improved significantly under Nolan, especially defensively, but there is plenty of work still to do if they are to get away from trouble at the bottom of League One.
Lincoln, the visitors to Sixfields on Saturday, were tipped by many to challenge for promotion this season, however whilst that remains a possibility, a dreadful run of form – one win in 12 league games – has dropped them from the play-offs to 12th in League One.
"It’s going to be a tough game,” said Nolan. “Lincoln don’t make it easy for anyone. They’re a very athletic team but we’ll be ready for them and hopefully we can match them. They aren’t where they want to be in the last few weeks but they probably see this game as one they can win against a team who are down near the bottom of the table.
"We have to make sure we match them and get the result we want. They played against Bolton on Tuesday and that’s something else they have to consider – I’m hoping there’s a few tired legs and we can take advantage of that.”
Saturday is the start of a brutal run for Town, whose next six games are all against top half teams.
"Every game is important,” added Nolan. “People say we have a tough run coming up but they’re all tough. It’s about you turning up and your application as a team and that’s what I’ve tried to drive into the lads.
"Individually they have been first-class since I walked in and collectively they are starting to become units and now we want to build on that. The boys have taken a lot on in the last two weeks and hopefully we’ll see another strong performance on Saturday.
"We need to keep building on the key principles after a couple of clean sheets. Defensively we have looked solid and we haven’t given away too many chances but I also want us to be better on the ball. Winning breeds confidence and I think you’ll see that.
"We have given them some ideas in terms of how we want to attack and what we want to do in the final third and it's been a good few days on the training pitch.”