Coach Jon Brady says his U18s have 'a lot to work on' despite their 3-1 friendly win over MK Dons U18s at Moulton College on Saturday morning.
Goals from Tommy Curry, Jack Connor and Josh Flanagan gave the Cobblers a deserved pre-season victory, but Brady wants more from his side.
He said, "There's still a lot to work on and we've got to work harder as a group.
"I'm not sure if MK Dons were at full strength because I think two of their better players are in the first team.
"We've got them (MK Dons) in two weeks, and we've got Peterborough in a week and that'll be a real tough challenge.
"They've trained for nine weeks and this is only our fourth week so we're a bit behind in terms of fitness.
"This pre-season has felt a bit like kids football when the team come to training changed and ready to play.
"We've got to adapt but at least we're out playing and enjoying our football.
"A couple of players have been struggling for confidence so it's a good win for us today.
"Last year we had a group that were free-scoring, but I don't think we've got that many attacking options this year so we're going to find goals a lot harder to come by.
"We've got more first years than second years in this group so it will be a tougher challenge for us this season."