Salford boss Alexander expecting 'response' from wounded Cobblers

Salford City manager Graham Alexander is expecting the Cobblers to bounce back from their defeat at Scunthorpe with a strong performance in Saturday's Sky Bet League Two encounter at the PTS Stadium.
Graham AlexanderGraham Alexander
Graham Alexander

Town were beaten 3-0 by Scunthorpe last Saturday and go into tomorrow's game having also lost their most recent home match, beaten 1-0 by Leyton Orient two weeks ago.

But former Iron boss Alexander, whose team have won back-to-back games and are two points and four places better off than the Cobblers, is wary of being on the wrong end of a backlash.

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“Going into the game on Saturday we know Northampton are coming off a difficult result for them last week," he said. "But we’ve shown ourselves we can respond to that so I expect they’ll be looking to respond, but it’s up to us to keep improving and we need to keep improving.

"The players are always approaching it in the right way, they’re superb to work with and they want to do the best for themselves and for the club.

“We have to continue that on Saturday but we know it’ll be a tough game as it always is, a different opponent again, a new opponent for us, but the players are in a good place and we’re looking forward to it."

Salford had a slow start to their first ever season in the EFL but two wins from their last two games, over Cambridge United and Walsall, have propelled them into mid-table.

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“The players are really understanding now what we want performance wise, they’re taking it into their training and we’re working a lot on what we need to do," Alexander added.

“Like I said a couple of weeks ago this is a long-term job and project, it’s not chasing the next result so we have to continue to be persistent with the work we’re doing with them and to be fair the players are getting more used to it.

“I think consistency is the key really, it’s what we’re looking for and if you’ve got a consistent squad to pick from, and you train in a consistent way, I think it’ll show in our performances ultimately.

“The experience of these clubs, like Northampton, it’s the norm for them being in the Football League and playing at a higher level than this. They’ll have players that have done the same and obviously the manager as well.

“It’s just about a feeling more than anything that we belong, that we can compete, that we can win, but that takes time."