Rovers rise no surprise to Cobblers boss Brady

Bristol Rovers' recent rapid climb up the Sky Bet League Two table has come as no surprise to Cobblers boss Jon Brady.

A run of seven wins in nine games has seen Joey Barton's team transformed from mid-table fodder to promotion contenders in a matter of weeks.

As recently as the middle of February, the Gas were sat in 14th in the table, and also 14 points adrift of the Cobblers.

Here we are five weeks later, and Rovers are in a play-off place in seventh, and just three points adrift of Brady's Town, who sit in second.

It is a far cry from the early part of the season when there were calls for Barton to be sacked as Rovers claimed just five wins in their first 15 matches of the campaign.

But their improvement in recent months hasn't caught Brady off guard.

"We knew all along that that are a good side, and they have hit form since the turn of the year really, " said the Cobblers boss.

"They are going well at the moment and are looking good, but they are coming to our place and we are looking forward to the challenge on Saturday."

The Cobblers were beaten 2-1 at the Memorial Stadium back in November, a result that eased the pressure on Barton, and since then the Rovers boss has changed things up.

The loan signing of Newcastle United's teenage winger Elliot Anderson has proved to be something of a master-stroke, but Brady believes there is more to their transformation than that.

Although he still feels his Cobblers team will be more than a match for their visitors this weekend as they still keep one eye on mounting a title challenge.

"They have brought the lad Anderson in from Newcastle and he has done very well for them, he looks like quite a special player," said the Town manager.

"They also have a bit more youth in their side now and are on a good run, but I feel we are on a not too bad a run ourselves.

"We have caught up ground on Forest Green, because if you look at the start of February we were 14 points behind them, and now we are only six.

"You can look at things in many ways, but that is a positive and we are catching ground on the leaders."