Nolan seeks solution to Sixfields woes as Cobblers look to end poor home form against Reading

Cobblers’ recent record at Sixfields – one win in six, including successive 2-0 defeats – marks a stark contrast to their excellent away record. They’ve not lost in five on the road and their only away defeat of 2025 came at Bolton in January.

A 4-0 thumping at rivals Peterborough, four days after losing 2-0 to Rotherham at Sixfields, was a continuation of the disparity between home and away form, and Nolan needs to find an answer before Reading’s visit this weekend.

"We've lost the last two games at home and I want to change that right away,” he said. “It's something I'll be looking at this week, certainly, and the lads will know exactly what's needed to start winning at Sixfields when they come back in.

"There's a lot we've got to change because we've lost the last two. There's some things I know we need to do but I'm not going to give too much away. We have to start turning it into the fortress and it's something I'm definitely looking at.

"Teams set up differently when you play away from home. You don't have to go after teams as much but at home you have to pick up the tempo and try and take the game to the opposition.

"It's something we're learning to do as a group. We've done it once or twice but we haven't sustained it. There's a lot of things to take into consideration but it's something we need to learn and it's important to be calm and believe in the game plan. If we do that, we'll get the result and performance we want."

Cobblers should certainly not lack confidence after their dismantling of Posh.

Nolan added: "You have to suffer sometimes and the lads weren't quite at it in the last two home games and that's something we need to look at, but against Peterborough we went back to what I said are our fundamental basics and our non-negotiables.

"We reiterated them in the week and we worked on them and then we also worked on a lot of stuff out of possession and how we could hurt them once we won the ball back on transitions. There were a lot of really good performances and they got the result they deserved.

"But I said to them when we had a chat this week – can we back up that performance with another one and start getting consistency between now and the end of the season? I'm pushing the lads and trying to get every last ounce out of them but they're training really well and they're pushing each other and it's fantastic to see.

"Now it’s about chasing down the next team above us in the table. We’ve got closer to Peterborough and we want to keep pulling other teams closer to us.”