Wilder wants Cobblers to maintain momentum against Mansfield

Wilder is promising to go on the attack against the sixth-placed Stags, knowing a win could take his team into the top two in Sky Bet League Two.

Fifth-placed Cobblers go into the game on the back of last weekend’s excellent 2-1 FA Cup win at Coventry City, and on a run of just one defeat in their past 11 league games.

Wilder knows Mansfield are going to pose a genuine threat to the Cobblers, but he is backing his players to rise to the challenge.

“Mansfield have done great, and I know quite a lot of their players,” said Wilder.

“I have managed their manager (Adam Murray), who was a really good player for me when I was at Oxford. He has got Mansfield playing decent football, and got them together.

“They have some good players and are going under the radar a bit, but they are fully deserving of the position they are in.

“They are a dangerous side, they are committed, get behind one another and have some talented footballers, so it is a big test for us.

“But we have momentum, we have the backing of a crowd again, and hopefully we can keep moving forward.

“We always feel we can score, but it is going to be a different test to the one we had on Saturday at Coventry.

“We were sat in there, especially in the second half, but now the onus is on us to go and attack the game, which we have done at home.

“Mansfield do have pace on the break, they have pace at the top of the pitch.

“I think the majority of games at Sixfields have been entertaining this season with how we play, and we are going to go for another game, we are going to go for the three points.

“That is the way we are set up, and hopefully we can claim those points.”