Cobblers boss Keith Curle said there were positives to take from the performance as he reflected on Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to a very strong looking Charlton Athletic.
With the sides level 0-0 at half-time, the in-form Addicks secured the three points thanks to two goals in five second half minutes.
“I’m always disappointed when we haven’t won,” he said.
“We limited Charlton to very few chances and we had a couple of good chances ourselves.
“I could have maybe played two up front from the start but the plan was to keep it tight for an hour and then put two up front to cause Charlton problems.
“There were positives and we nullified their threats to a large extent but again we could have done better with the goals we conceded.
“We will never stop competing and there will not be a time under my management where the players don’t give everything for the cause. We will lose games but we will always give it all we’ve got.”