Ian Sampson is pleased that the Cobblers have already been able to add a couple of experienced faces to the squad as they prepare for the new League 2 campaign.

"Craig Hinton is a player with a wealth of experience at this level, he played quite a few times for Bristol Rovers last season and we were quite surprised when they released him," he said.

"He has gained promotion from League Two before with Bristol Rovers, he is a player that works really hard for the team and his leadership qualities will be invaluable for us.

"Steve Guinan (pictured) has got bags of experience at League Two level, his goalscoring record is good and he is another player that works extremely hard for the team.

"If Steve and Bayo's partnership gels straight away then that obviously benefits everybody but we are still looking to bring in another striker.

"We are always looking to add players to the squad, Joe Benjamin has got potential but he is maybe not quite ready yet for the first-team week in, week out, although he will have a part to play.

"The squad is still looking a bit thin on the ground in terms of numbers at the moment and we certainly need to bring in more defenders, a wide man and at least one more striker."