Nolan reveals the sacrifices his players are making after 'monumental' Burton win
Kevin Nolan says his players have gone above and beyond in putting their bodies on the line to help the Cobblers cause over the Christmas period.
The combination of a manic schedule and a debilitating injury list has meant Cobblers have had no choice but to take calculated risks with some players in the last couple of weeks.
New signing Liam Shaw lasted the distance at Burton on Saturday despite starting just seven games for Fleetwood all season, Akin Odimayo and Liam McCarron have both played through the pain barrier, while Jordan Willis and Sam Hoskins had to play more minutes than would normally be recommended against Stevenage and Burton. Aaron McGowan has also returned from injury and immediately started nine successive games in the space of 32 days.
After Saturday’s battling win at Burton, Nolan said: “The lads will now have a chance to rest their bodies because they have been in every day and it’s been a hectic period and they’ve put their bodies on the line.
"The board worked really hard to get Liam in but he hasn't had the minutes he would have liked and you could see he was a bit short of 90 minutes but he dug in and he was brilliant.
"I had Liam McCarron who has a sore ankle but he's willing to put himself on the bench to give me an option if I needed him. AK was struggling with a hamstring injury and Jordan Willis has only just come back. He played 70 minutes against Stevenage and then did 90 three days later but he looked absolutely fantastic in the middle of the back three.
"Aaron McGowan has just been thrust straight back into games after injury and not really eased in. I could go on and on so I’m just really proud of the boys and how they’ve reacted to me since I came in.”
McGowan himself added: "It's been a monumental effort from the lads. I think it's pretty clear to see how much we're lagging it was like trying to get the best out of a dead horse from me at the end.
"It has been a long December with a lot of games but we have just stuck together. The gaffer has installed a different mindset and you can see we are all working for each other and we're going that extra yard for each other."