Jon Brady was pleased to get more minutes out on the pitch in to his players as he reflected on Tuesday's pre-season friendly at St Mirren.
The Cobblers won 3-1 in the game on Tuesday night, but the outcome was not what mattered most to the Northampton Town manager.
“The result is by the by really, the most important thing for us was getting players minutes on the pitch,” he said.
“We mixed the squads and a lot of youngsters got a run out. It was good all over and a good run out for the team.
“We are very grateful to St Mirren for hosting us, it’s nice to win of course and get in that habit but pre-season is totally different to a league game.
“We are starting to do more on how we want to play and our philosophy and it’s important that we start to gain those connections on the pitch.
“There were some good things against St Mirren but on the flip side there were also things that we need to work on.
“It’s been a good week so far and you can see connections growing in the group.
“These trips away are really beneficial, the group was very tight last year and our aim is for us to achieve that again this year.”