Nolan wants three specific attributes from his signings this summer
There are three attributes in particular that Kevin Nolan wants from his signings this summer – pace, power and robustness – and that is already evident in those who have arrived at Sixfields so far.
Nolan has made no secret of his belief that Town’s squad lacks players who can cope with the demanding EFL schedule. In a bid to rectify the club’s woeful injury record in recent seasons, signing physically strong players will be a priority this summer.
He said: "No disrespect to the squad I inherited but it took us a while to get them all on the training pitch and get their fitness up to speed last season. A lot of the substitutes were made because lads couldn't go Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday.
"We have added power, pace and some robustness to the squad with these new lads. That is important to us. They need to play Saturday and then go again on Tuesday and train every day. We need to get the best out of these lads and that starts on the first day of pre-season. We want as many in as early as we can so they know what's expected.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm very honest with the lads when we have our Zoom calls because they need to know what they are getting themselves in for. I want us to be fit, strong and hard-working like we were towards the end of the season. We matched some big clubs but I want to take it even further to make us better and stronger and not only match these teams but beat them."