Thomas believes Cobblers will be the 'underdogs' in play-offs

Cobblers were beaten by a late goal when they visited Cheltenham shortly before the season was suspended.

Chairman Kelvin Thomas believes Cobblers will be the 'underdogs' when the Sky Bet League Two play-offs get underway later this month.

Town were seventh in League Two when the season was suspended on March 13 - just a point inside the play-offs - and will remain in the same position under the EFL’s unweighted points-per-game method, which should be ratified at next week's meeting.

Potential semi-final opponents Cheltenham Town, meanwhile, were division's form team and had won six of their past seven games when the season was called to a sudden halt.

Manager Michael Duff recently admitted that the Robins felt aggrieved to be robbed of the opportunity to contend for automatic promotion. They were just four points adrift of third place with a game in hand.

“We had won six in seven before we stopped and were the in-form team,” he said. “I am sure Port Vale will feel hard done by as well as they could have made the play-offs, but people can’t afford to play the rest of the season.”

By contrast, the Cobblers were stuttering a little during February and March and will be somewhat relieved to still have a shot at promotion.

“I think there’s a lot of excitement and deservedly so,” said Thomas “It’s a strange situation and it’ll be really hard to reflect on this season and pinpoint what was right and what was wrong about the decisions that were made and where teams finished.

“We had a tough start to the season but we made some changes and overall, across the season, we’ve done well and I think it’s fair to say we are a play-off team.

“Do we go into them as favourites? I don’t think so. I think we go in as underdogs.

“Cheltenham had a decent little run of results before the season was suspended and I think they felt they should be going up automatically rather than having to take part in the play-offs.

“So I think they’ll be favourites and they’ll consider themselves favourites in this game too, but we have to stand up and be counted on the pitch like we have done all season.”

Cobblers’ preparations for the play-offs stepped up a gear this week as players resumed training for the first time in nearly three months.

The squad were put through their paces in small, socially-distanced groups during the early part of the week before moving to full contact training on Thursday.

“It feels like a long time since we discussed football but the players are back in training and they’re ready to go,” added Thomas.

“They’re excited to be back out on the pitch and I think as with most people who have gone through this process, we’re all ready to get back to work when it’s safe to do so.

“The players are no different and they just want to get going. They’ve been fantastic.”