Stuart Gray said the Cobblers have the ambition and the ability to bounce back to League One at the first attempt.

"We have got the ambition to get straight back up but we have got to get off to a good start," he said.

"The disappointing thing is the knock on of relegation, the finances have suffered big time with the loss of TV money and the gates next season will suffer a bit as well because we won't be playing the likes of Norwich, Southampton and even Leeds.

"You look at Leeds budget and that just goes to show nothing is guaranteed, I'd imagine next season we will be on an even keel regarding budgets.

"We need to keep our big players fit, last season we lost Chris Doig and Adebayo Akinfenwa for key periods but ultimately we didn't pick up enough results at Sixfields from Christmas onwards and that was the disappointing thing.

"When I came to this football club two and a half years ago everyone was talking about the re-development and that must be so frustrating for the Chairman and the board who have been working their socks off to better the football club.

"Any manager can look back at games during the season but for me there were defining moments where we maybe should have taken a point from a game which would have taken us to that 50-point mark that was the difference.

"The Chairman expects promotion and I don't mind that pressure, I thrive on pressure but I knew when people were talking about play-offs we were maybe over achieving.

"We need to hit the ground running next season, we have got to go to some difficult places but I won't change the brand of football that I want to play.

"People tell me that League Two is more direct and you have to get the ball forward quickly and fight and scrap. We will be up for the battle but we also have to be brave and confident that we can get the ball down and play as well."