Willis yet to discuss potential new deal but he 'couldn't be happier' at Cobblers

Cobblers defender Jordan Willis feels he is getting stronger, sharper and better with every game he plays – but discussions are yet to open over extending his current deal at the club which runs out next month.

The 29-year-old joined Northampton on a free transfer in early October and has impressively filled the void left by injured captain Jon Guthrie. He’s started six of Town’s last seven league games and his blossoming partnership with Sam Sherring has helped the team turn their fortunes around with three wins in four.

"I said when I came in that one of the big reasons for coming here was to play regularly and I couldn't be any happier with how it's going,” said Willis. "I feel like I'm getting back to where I want to be in terms of my performance levels but I need to keep building and keep improving and help the team pick up more wins.

"There's a big difference between being fit and being match fit. I had been back training for over a year before I joined but when it comes to match sharpness, you can only get there from playing games no matter what you do in training.

"The intensity and sharpness isn't the same in training and the competitive edge that you get in a game is second to none so to be able to play this many games and get my performances up, that's what I wanted.”

However, despite his good form, and even though Cobblers continue to be hit by injuries, as yet there have been no discussions over extending his contract beyond January.

"It's not something I've given a lot of thought to,” Willis added. “I'm just enjoying my football at the moment and I couldn't be happier with the amount of game-time I've had.

"I'm sure when the time is right both parties will sit down and have those conversations but I'm taking each game as it comes and my focus is on trying to continue raising my performance levels. That's where I'm at at the minute.”

Cobblers will be desperate to bounce back from their 3-0 defeat to Portsmouth this weekend when Fleetwood Town are the visitors to Sixfields.

"You don't want to be on the end of a negative result but we've gone over the video of the Portsmouth game this week and we’ve looked at both the positives and the negatives and now that's been put to bed and the focus is on Saturday,” Willis added.

"When you've played the amount of games in League One that I have and you've been down there, you know the games against teams around you are so important and these are the ones you need to be winning.

"The wins against the Blackpools are just as important because the morale boost they give you is massive but to put that little bit of distance between you and the teams below you is so key. First and foremost you have to do the basics well and we know this will be a tough game but we want to build on our good run."