On Thursday evening, Cobblers boss Stuart Gray attended the first NTFC Supporters Ltd Open Forum of the season.
For those who were unable to attend, a brief round up of the meeting can be found below;
Q: The Chairman hopes to be pushing for the play offs this season. Is this realistic?
SG: I've got ambitions to push this club on. I am still building a squad and adding quality to the squad. The most important thing is to get the home form sorted out. The home form here last season was not acceptable, and that has to be put right.
Q: Will we be able to keep Mark Bunn?
SG: If we are doing well other clubs will want our players and that is a sign that we are doing something right. When I came in I felt the squad was too old. I thought when I arrived that we needed to develop players like Mark Bunn and Bradley Johnson who are the future of the club, and we got them tied up on new contracts. We hope that more clubs are linked with our players, because if they are it means the players must be improving and that means we will be improving.
Q: Who will be playing up front on Saturday?
SG: You will see on Saturday at 3pm!
Q: Is our squad strong enough to cope with injuries?
SG: At the moment, Giles Coke aside, we have a fully fit squad to select from. I think we have avoided injuries during pre-season because of the summer fitness programmes the players worked to. We have a squad I am happy with. We have gone for quality, not quantity, but if we need to get players in to cover injuries I have contacts in the loan market that I will lean on. Through no fault of their own, some of the players here last season could not play at the tempo we wanted them to. Now we have a young squad that will be full of pace and energy, but because they are young they are learning and may make mistakes. In the attacking third of the pitch I give the players a free range, all I ask them to be is positive and if they aren't they will be taken off. I ask the midfield to have 3 or 4 goal attempts each in a game, and I ask the forwards to have even more. Someone like Bradley Johnson can be up in double figures for goals this season and we need the midfield to come up with returns like that.
Q: With us perhaps lacking an experienced head on the field, is there a worry there may be a lack of discipline?
SG: No way. There is a strict discipline code here that I know the players will adhere to. If not, they will be fined but I have no worries on that score. They are good professionals
Q: How far is Giles Coke away from playing?
SG: Giles suffered a ligament injury playing for Mansfield in January and had fluid in the back of the knee cap. He is progressing well, and we should have him back in training within 3 or 4 days. It may be October though before we see the best of him, but we knew that when we signed him.
Q: How do you rate Chris Dunn?
SG: He has come a long way. He has great ability and great attributes and he has got time on his side to develop. He has a chance to carve out a good career for himself. I also have great faith in a youth team midfield player called Alex Dyer. It is also a big season for Danny May to kick on. Another young player, Liam Dolman has had a good pre-season.
SG: I and the team really appreciate the support we are given both at home and away. We can't promise that we will win every week, but if we do lose games, we will be losing games on ability and not through any lack of effort. The one thing we can guarantee is effort. Thank you for your support.
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