Cobblers boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has spoken about the changes he was forced to make to the side on Tuesday night against Gillingham.
Hasslebaink made two enforced changes to the side, with Matt Crooks (hamstring) and Kevin van Veen (pictured, dead leg and knee) struggling.
“We made two enforced changes on Tuesday and in hindsight maybe I should have changed the side more to freshen it up,” he said.
“We had the right blend against Wimbledon and because of that you want to give the players another opportunity to create consistency but with hindsight that was maybe not the right thing to do.
"We made changes at Wimbledon and I thought we got that right. Because of the way we played, I thought those who played at Wimbledon deserved to stay in the side but we lacked energy and aggression in the first half on Tuesday and maybe fresher legs would have given us that.
“I had to put John-Joe O’Toole back into midfield on Tuesday night because Matt Crooks was out and in my opinion John-Joe was the next best option for that position in that particular game.
“The first half on Tuesday night was very frustrating but in those moments we need the supporters to help us. They had reason to be disappointed but we need all the help that we can get."