Keith Curle says the Cobblers are preparing for a sprint and not a marathon as the squad build up to take on Cheltenham Town next Thursday evening at the PTS Academy Stadium.
“It’s not a marathon now it is a sprint and we have got to hit the ground running," he said.
“It will be strange playing without a crowd but we will be very familiar with the surroundings and we are very used to the pitch because that’s where we have been training these last few weeks.
“We’ve got a squad that embraces challenges, it will be a challenge but it will be one we face head on.
“We’ve got a style of play that we don’t shy away from and we won’t shy away from and we need to make sure we turn up next Thursday and get ourselves a good foothold in the tie.
“We want to get the ball forward and numbers in the box, it is very simple but it is very effective.
“We’ve got 24 players in training and we want all those players on the same page because of how we play. It is vitally important we work on the fundamentals of our game and make sure we get those right.”