Nolan's 'not afraid of a fight' as Cobblers seek first win of 2026

​Nolan’s men showed no shortage of effort and endeavour when ending their losing run by drawing 2-2 with Barnsley on Tuesday. However, whilst that was undoubtedly a good and important point, Town remain 23rd in League One and desperately need wins if they are to climb away from danger.

"There’s plenty of time left and I'm not afraid of a fight, I never have been, and I'm quite happy to stand up and be counted,” said Nolan. “My boys did that on Tuesday – they have spirit and character in abundance.

"The only game that matters now is the next one and that's Stevenage at Sixfields and we need to get back to picking up points at home. The performances are there but we're not getting results and that's what we need to get ourselves out of this situation.”

Saturday's game at Sixfields is unlikely to be full of goals. Both Northampton and Stevenage are in the bottom five in League One for goals scored this season, whilst Alex Revell's men boast the joint-best defensive record. And despite only one win in their last nine, Boro are just a couple of places outside the play-offs.

Nolan added: "Wins are never easy to come by in this league and it'll be the same on Saturday because Stevenage are having a great season.

"But we can only focus on ourselves and try to keep improving. If we do that and keep up our level of performance, as well as cut out those little errors, we will be OK, I truly believe that. We've got a squad capable of making sure we have League One status next season. We can only keep plugging away and keep believing what we are doing is right."