Martin says it's time for the Cobblers to start doing their talking on the pitch

The Cobblers entertain unbeaten Newport County on Saturday off the back of a 2-1 defeat at Bradford City.

The game at Valley Parade saw Town concede twice in the final 13 minutes to throw away a 1-0 lead and return home from west Yorkshire empty handed.

Martin felt that it was a clash he and his team-mates could and should have won, but admits it is time to stop talking about the what might have beens, and to start producing when it counts.

The loss to the Bantams was the Cobblers’ fourth in seven matches in Sky Bet League Two this season, but they have all been by a single goal, and Martin believes that at least is an encouraging sign.

“It is good that we are always in the game, and it’s not like we are getting beat 3-0 or 4-0,” said the former Stevenage man. “The boys are fit and it is just small things.

“The performance against Plymouth the other week was really good and we got the result because we got the goals at key times.

“In some of the other games we have been good, and even the very first game against Walsall we were the better team for large parts of the game.

“But we can’t keep saying ‘oh we were the better team’, we have to start taking our chances and changing those small things into our favour.

“If we do that then eventually we will go on a run with the boys we have in the changing room here, and with a manager who knows how to get results. I am sure we will go up that league very quickly.”

The Cobblers’ most recent home league game saw them dismantle promotion favourites Plymouth Argyle 3-1, and Martin says that performance has set the standard to follow.

“The Plymouth game, that is how we know we can play,” he said.

“With the team we have got, with our pressing, the high energy, taking our chances, that is our benchmark.

“If we perform like we did on that that day then we will win a lot of games in this league.”

Unbeaten Newport will be another tough nut to crack, but Martin is confident.

“I think we do better against the better teams.” said the left-back. “The performances have always been pretty good, and I think it helps when teams have a go at us, and that means we can exploit that.

“Newport is a tough game. They can be quite direct, but we will know their threats and I think out confidence is pretty high.

“If we can put in another performance like we did against Plymouth, and for a lot of the game against Bradford, then we should get another result.”