Cobblers defender Buchanan keen to avoid another pre-season friendly nightmare

The main point of pre-season is for the players to work their way up to full fitness ahead of the start of the new Sky Bet League One campaign.

Buchanan accepts results in pre-season friendlies are usually of no serious significance, but he says performances are, and the Town left-back believes the team produced too many sub-standard showings 12 months ago.

Page was undertaking his first and only pre-season at Sixfields having taken over as boss from Chris Wilder, and it was a troubled one.

Friendlies were lost to non-League sides Nuneaton, Brackley Town and Eastleigh, with the team conceding four times in the latter two.

“It is important we have a good pre-season this year,” said Buchanan.

“We didn’t really have a good pre-season last year, in terms of the results were not only poor, but the way we played in some of the games as well.

“We went to Nuneaton and got battered, Brackley battered us as well, and now I know it is all about fitness and that is the main focus.

“It’s about getting fit, about not getting injured, and making sure that as many people as possible can get through to the first game of the season unscathed.

“But as a player it doesn’t matter, you don’t like getting beat in the manner we did in a few of those games.

“Fitness is the ultimate goal and staying injury free, but you still want to win matches.”

The Cobblers players have been back in training since last Thursday, and they will play their first pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 8 at Sileby Rangers, before jetting off to Spain for a training camp the following day, and they will play Birmingham City Under-23s while they are away.