Boothroyd calls for focus as Cobblers break into promotion places

Aidy Boothroyd insists he will not be distracted from the Cobblers’ immediate concerns despite the club breaking into the npower League Two automatic promotion places.

Town went third with Tuesday night’s 2-1 win at Aldershot, the highest they have been in their respective division for seven years.

On that occasion, Northampton won promotion by finishing second under the guidance of Colin Calderwood and to see the side in such an exalted position has caused a predictably positive reaction among the supporters.y

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Those fans have been starved of success for some time, with the 2009-10 campaign when the team missed out on the play-offs despite an excellent second half to the season being the closest the club has come to glory.

Since then, the Cobblers have survived two scares of relegation from the Football League but while things are looking decidedly better these days, Boothroyd is aware of the need to maintain focus on the job in hand.

“It (going into the top three) does give everyone a boost and it is nice,” he said. “But what we’ve always had since I’ve been here is that we’ve always been the underdogs, we’ve always been fighting to stay in the Football League.

“Now all of a sudden we’re in a position where we’re at the right end of it and what will happen is that expectations will rise.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“What I’ve got to do and what I will insist everyone in the club does is just focus on the next game.

“We play the team second in the league in our next match and that will be our next big test. If we can take points off them then it will be a really good week.

“I do want to enjoy the time now, though, it is very nice to be third in the table after all the stresses and tribulations of last season.

“There were a lot of wrinkled faces last season and they are smiling again now but with that comes the trepidation of what is expected of us.”