Cobblers boss Keith Curle looked back on a good week as he reflected on Saturday's draw with Sunderland.
“It was a hard fought encounter,” he said.
“I felt we were competitive and I didn’t really feel they opened us up at all.
“I don’t think either team dominated in each other’s 18-yard box, we defended very well and having Alan Sheehan back has made a big difference to us.
“Four points from two games this week is a good return, Alan’s experience has certainly helped. We took him off to protect him and we have got a little break now until our next game. Alan is an experienced professional and he knows his own body.
“We’ve shown good strength of character again today, the more we improve and develop the better the football will come but ultimately right now we need to make sure we accumulate enough points to stay in this division."
Curle meanwhile confirmed work is ongoing to add to the squad with the January transfer window now open.
“There is work going on behind the scenes and we want to improve the squad but I think this window is going to be very different. Housekeeping is vitally important to us. We won’t panic buy and we won’t pay over the odds.
“We have got four or five options we are looking at and if two or three of those come off we will have had a good window.”