Caretaker boss Dean Austin said he felt raw as he reflected on Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Walsall.
The result leaves the Cobblers three points off safety with only one game to play and a vastly inferior goal difference to Oldham.
“It’s a very disappointing day for everybody and it feels very raw for all of us at the minute,” he said.
“We had enough chances to win the game and for 75 minutes I felt we were the better side but in a way that just sums up our season. You have to take your chances.
“The players have given absolutely everything and then some in the last few weeks and I am absolutely gutted for the boys and the 2,000 fans we had here today. They were absolutely phenomenal and I thought they were going to suck the ball in for us in the second half but it just wasn’t to be.
“We had to go for it and we wanted to win the game.
“I took Shaun McWilliams off because he had a yellow card and Matt Crooks has been struggling with a hamstring problem for quite some time now. We’ve been protecting him a little bit but when I saw him stretching I knew he didn’t have a lot left in the tank.
“We need to go away, lick our wounds and reflect on how we move forward from here.
“It’s about what is best for the club, my focus has always been on the next game and I haven’t thought beyond that.
“I’m sure we will have a conversation at the end of the season but whatever decision is made it has to be the right one for the football club.
“The club has been relegated before and now it needs to re-group and come again.
"This is a fantastic football club and it will come back."