Boss Page backs Buchanan as Cobblers get ready for Holmes reunion

Holmes will face his former club for the first time as Town travel to take on Charlton Athletic in their first away game in Sky Bet League One.

Buchanan is likely to be the man who has to deal with the winger, who scored 11 goals in 33 appearances to help Cobblers win league two last season.

And Page is hoping his defender can shut Holmes down to ensure Cobblers can get a result at The Valley.

“Buchs and Ricky know each other inside out so it will be a great battle,” said the Cobblers boss. “Let’s hope Buchs comes out on top!

“Buchs knows all about him, his strengths, his weaknesses, but on the day if you switch off for a minute, players like Ricky will hurt you.

“We’ve got to concentrate for the 90 minutes and make sure we don’t allow him to influence the game in the manner he did for us last season.”

Holmes was a fans’ favourite while at Sixfields as his goals and assists caught the eye of the Cobblers faithful.

And Page said: “I hope they give him a great reception because he’s been fantastic for this football club and nobody can blame him and question why he went to Charlton, so we wish him all the best with that, just not for Saturday’s game.

“We know he’s going to pose a threat, we know he’s got quality because of what he did for this club last season. We respect him for that, but we’ll go and impose ourselves on them as well.

“They’ve got not only Ricky, but they’ve brought a new addition in (Josh Magennis) and they’ve got experience at the back and in the middle of the park.

“They’ve also got goals there, so we know what they’re all about and we’ll have a plan ready for the game to go and impose ourselves on them.”