Wilder wants ‘vociferous’ backing from ‘brilliant’ Cobblers supporters

Chris Wilder’s men are aiming to stretch their unbeaten run in Sky Bet League Two to a magnificent seven games when they travel to Cambridge United on Saturday.

The Town manager is in bullish mood ahead of the trip, despite the increasingly grim news surrounding the financial struggles the club is experiencing.

The latest setback to hit chairman David Cardoza was Thursday’s winding up petition issued by HMRC over an unpaid tax bill.

That news came on top of the proposed takeover of the club by an Indian consortium falling through, and the Northampton Borough Council demanding the repayment of the £10.25m loaned to the club for the redevelopment of Sixfields.

More and more supporters are now beginning to fear the worst for their club, but Wilder insists it is business as normal for him and his players, and that if and when the financial problems impact him and his squad they will ‘have to play the cards we are dealt when that time comes about’.

For now, the manager is calling on the Cobblers’ ‘brilliant’ fanbase to put those fears and concerns over the off-field problems to the back of their minds as the players prepare to do battle at the Abbey Stadium.

A 1,000-plus following is expected to travel to the Abbey Stadium, and Wilder is urging them to hit the road in numbers once more, focus on the team, and do their bit to cheer their club to three more points.

“We will hopefully take a vociferous number to Cambridge United on Saturday,” said Wilder, who earlier in the week referred to the Cobblers fans as ‘the beating heart of the club’.

“The team and myself are getting tremendous backing from the supporters, who have been brilliant, and we want to reward them with positive, front-foot football, ending in decent results.

“We are playing well at the moment and we want that to continue.

“Cambridge is a tough place to go and I should imagine they will be desperate to climb the league because there will have been a lot of expectancy there due to the signings they made in the summer.

“We have to be at our best to go and get a good result, but we can only go on our current form and we 
have gone to the league leaders Wycombe and won, and beaten Hartlepool at home.

“Hopefully we can have another good result on Saturday.”

The Cobblers go into the game in eighth place in league two, just two points adrift of second-placed Portsmouth.