Upbeat Adams confident of better times ahead as he vows to keep Town's spirits up

If the Cobblers did not already know the scale of the challenge facing them this season, three successive 2-0 defeats should do the job.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the latest of those defeats was inflicted by rivals Peterborough United at the weekend.

It was a game and a Northampton performance reminiscent of previous losses to Bristol Rovers and Hull City as defensive mishaps again proved costly.

But the most worrying theme of the season so far has been at the other end of the pitch where Cobblers' disjointed and toothless attack has conjured up just four shots on target across the last 270 minutes of football.

The final third is usually where Nicky Adams thrives but even he, on his first league start of the season, was unable to seriously trouble Posh.

“You never want to lose any game but especially a derby against your local rivals,” admitted the 33-year-old.

“They’re the games you want to win more than any other game so the lads were all gutted in the changing room afterwards.

“I didn’t think there was much in the game but we switched off for the first goal, they took it well, and it dented us a bit before half-time.

“We never gave in and we kept ourselves right in the game but we didn’t have that final pass and the ball didn’t quite drop in the box for us. We’ve got to be better at that.”

As club captain, it’s up to Adams to make sure the team keep their heads up as they enter a run of six games in 18 days.

“We’ve got a great bunch of lads here, honest lads,” he added. “We always knew it would be difficult this season because there are some really good football teams in this division.

“We can match anyone on our day but at the moment we’re being punished for switching off. At this level, if you switch off, you get punished, so we need to put that right.

“It’s still early days and we’ve played some very good teams but it’s my job to keep spirits up. We’ve got a good group and I’ll make sure the boys are all OK and we stay positive on the training ground – that’s the only place where we can fix it.

“We’re not getting battered and losing by four or five. It’s about those fine margins. We’ve stepped up a level and we need to be better but we will get better.

“It’s difficult without the fans but we know they’re backing us from home and hopefully we can get them back in the ground soon.”

A derby without fans was, if nothing else, a unique experience, but as football continues to be played behind closed doors while pubs and theatres remain open, patience is beginning to wear thin.

Pilot events held by the EFL last month were deemed a success but the prospect of supporters returning to grounds any time soon appears remote, despite Adams’ understandable anger.

“As a professional footballer, that’s what you play for – the atmosphere and the crowd,” he said. “The little things make a big difference and it affects your momentum during a game.

“When we’re attacking, we can hear the roar of supporters, but now, if something fizzles out, it’s like... ‘well, there’s no-one here’. It’s frustrating.

“It’ll put clubs at risk and I think people need to grasp that. Life has to go on because people will be a lot worse off in the long-term if not.

“It’s not just football, businesses are closing up and down the country and it’s impacting livelihoods and people’s mental health. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.

“Things need to change and fans need to come back. If that doesn’t happen, you’ll kill clubs and it’ll impact local businesses too because they thrive off their local clubs.

“There’s a lot of good football clubs in the country who are all ready to go and they’ve got everything in place to keep people safe. So why are they not allowing it? I just don’t understand it at all.”