Cobblers boss Keith Curle previews Saturday’s trip to Mansfield and says he is expecting a tough challenge at the One Call Stadium with the home side under the guidance of new manager Graham Coughlan for the first time.
“It will be a challenge, they will be upbeat with a new manager coming in and I’m expecting them to play at a high tempo which is something we don’t shy away from ourselves,” he said.
“Mansfield are a football club that, certainly over the last couple of seasons, have backed their manager with a very healthy budget and they will be disappointed with where they are in the league.
“They made some good signings in the summer and there is talent in the squad but sometimes having that talent isn’t enough, as this football club has found out in some recent seasons.
“From our point of view, I was delighted with the response I got from the players on Saturday, we needed a reaction and that was the challenge we set the players.
“When we look back at a game our analysis starts with the scoreline. Statistics can show you different things within a game but it’s always the scoreline we look at first.
“If a result goes the wrong way it’s not about re-inventing the wheel, we know what we are good at and what we are trying to do and we’ve got a good belief and understanding of what gets us on the front foot.
“Every game throws up a different set of challenges and what has impressed me most with this group is every week we set them a different challenge and they don’t shy away from that.”