Cobblers boss Wilder wary of misfiring Cambridge United

Hosts Cambridge United are stuck in mid-table, seven points behind in-form and eighth-placed Cobblers, with just three league wins to their name so far this season.

But Town manager Chris Wilder certainly doesn’t see it that way, and he is wary of a United team that hasn’t quite clicked into gear yet this season, but one that he feels definitely has the potential to be challenging at the top end of the table.

“Cambridge have good players,” said Wilder.

“People talk about managers, tactics and preparation, but I think if you have a good group of players that have a go for you, and you have some quality in there, it’s a good sign for them to go well.

“They have some good players, so they might be a touch disappointed with their results so far.

“But in this league they are all dangerous opponents, and by all accounts in the first half against Portsmouth last weekend when it was 11 versus 11, it was very even (Cambridge went on to lose 3-1).

“They had the man sent off which gave the advantage to the opposition, but they will be looking to kick-start their season.

“They were a team that was tipped in the betting, and with the players they brought into the club in the summer, I would imagine if you spoke to most of the league two managers they would have thought they were going to go very well this year.

“It is still only early October, and we have seen ourselves with the run we have been on, that teams can put results together when you get a few players back and get a bit of confidence.

“Any team can do that, as we did last year after Christmas, and the season is not decided in October so Cambridge will be looking to get a result to give them a little bit of momentum.”

Momentum is certainly something the Cobblers have at the moment.

The defeat to Dagenham last month is the only one suffered in the league since August 22, and Town are unbeaten in six, having claimed 14 points out of the last 18 available to them.

“We just want to keep going,” admitted Wilder.

“With the run we are on, we are in good nick, players are in good nick individually, the team is playing well as a group.

“We are having players coming back into the group, which is important so that there is competition for places, and our energy levels are good.

“We are showing good signs, good form, and the confidence levels are good.

“We are going after games, we are looking to win games, and we will do that on Saturday.”